Wild Australia
JULY. AUGUST 2019 Essential wildlife highlights that can’t be missed
Small but
mighty
ByRihdSithBy Richard Smith
This view into the mini world of an
amphipod living in an ascidian on a reef
in Raja Ampat in Indonesia has been short-
listed in this year’s Australian Geographic
Nature Photographer of the Year competition.
“I was searching for miniature pygmy
seahorses on the reefs of West Papua
when I happened across this tiny
amphipod crustacean,” says photographer
Richard Smith. “Just 0.5–1cm long,
this male is sitting at the mouth of the sea
squirt to guard the females and young
within. According to an amphipod expert,
this is likely a new species.”36 Australian Geographic