Often dive guides will ask scuba divers to not put their hands in the sand. Their rationale or warning is that you never know what lives underneath the sand.

We spent a week in Indonesia, and on several dives, we spotted a few Crocodile Snake Eels (Brachysomophis crocodilinus). These eels are primarily found in the Indo-Pacific from the eastern coast of Africa to Australia.

They create burrows in the sand, leaving only their eyes exposed, and they wait patiently to ambush passing prey.

Click on the photograph to enlarge it.

The species epithet “crocodilinus” and the common name refer to the species’ crocodilian appearance.

Thanks to the dive guides at Siladen Resort and Spa for pointing out the bright orange eel in the sand.