zoanthids @ sekudu - Oct2011

Yet another in the series on fluorescing animals ...

At first glance, the casual shore walker does not really notice tiny zoanthids which are rather prevalent on most of Singapore's shores. They are oftentimes too small to pay attention to although if one did stop to have a closer look at them, a whole new world of designs and colours beckons. The luminousity of black light highlights (pun intended) zoanthids in another dimension. The central mouth area of these zoanthids look ... almost radioactive. Indeed, some zoanthids contain palytoxin which is the most toxic marine toxin on the planet.


Read about :
zoanthids - http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/cnidaria/others/zoanthid/zoanthid.htm

beachflea amphipods @ sekudu - Oct2011

There was a superbloom of amphipods on the sea lettuce algae which was itself blooming all over the island's shore. Looks like the season for amphipods. They were a little fluorescent when illuminated with blacklight. Perhaps their partially transclucent exoskeletons was able to diffract or reflect some part of the blacklight.

Read about :
amphipods - http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/crustacea/othercrust/amphipoda/amphipoda.htm
ribbon sea lettuce - http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/plants/seaweed/chlorophyta/reticulata.htm

Read about fluorescence here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescence
and also about bioluminescence here : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bioluminescence

Read also about Sekudu's other treasures :
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2011/10/sekudu-with-harlequin-and-other.html
http://sgn090608.blogspot.com/2011/11/111030-sekudu.html
http://wondercreation.blogspot.com/2011/10/slugs-galore-at-pulau-sekudu.html