stonefish exposed @ terumbu semakau - July 2014

Was about to take a 'next' step at the western corner of the reef when i saw an almost forgotten shape. I had been looking for it all throughout the dark morning trip to the reef. Finally, and in good time before i lifted my foot towards the sandy space just in front of it.

The video starts with a pan from right to left. Can you see it before it gulps a passing fish and reveals its position? The camouflage is so good that one has to take a few glances to make sure. 

The cam went under for a closer look at its eyes and hollow cheeks (where you may see a dark hollow below its eyes).  Do look out for the lure above its mouth. Stonefish sometimes wriggle their lure which looks like a tasty (to a fish perhaps) worm in order to attract fish closer to its cavernous mouth. When that happens, the fish is gulped down in a split second.  Too bad i missed the gulp during the pan.

I managed to get a close up of the dorsal spines but these were very well hidden and the stonefish did not bother to raise its spines as i passed the cam over its head. I did notice some minor movement of its lips. Perhaps it was sizing the cam up. Luckily, it decided not to try to make a meal of the cam (and my fingers).

stonefish exposed @ terumbu semakau - July 2014 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Find out more about this super cool fish :-

http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/synanceiidae/horrida.htm

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.sg/2011/02/mr-horrida-stonefish-tanah-merah.html

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.sg/2010/05/stonefish-ed-almost-st-johns-island.html

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.sg/2008/05/beautiful-cyrene-6-mr-stonefish-in.html

http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.sg/2010/02/stonefish-tanah-merah-13feb2010.html

Mr. Horrida Stonefish @ Tanah Merah 02Feb2011

There were two chaps fishing on the seawall with their rods pointed out to sea. There was a break in the middle of the large pool where the sand had accumulated and some of the seawall had toppled over.
Just about where the men were fishing, I saw the distinctive shape of H. Stonefish.
It was in a small pool between some larger granite seawall rocks which had long since tumbled away from the seawall.
The fishermen were oblivious to the possibility of meeting Mr Stonefish up close and very personal. Decked out in slippers, they would not have had a chance against Mr Stonefish's dorsal spines had they walked his way.

stonefish @ tanah merah from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

A friend, Ivan, had the misfortune of meeting Mr Stonefish in 2010. Here is his account of it ...
http://lazy-lizard-tales.blogspot.com/2011/01/stepping-on-stonefish-year-on-part-1.html and
http://lazy-lizard-tales.blogspot.com/2011/01/stepping-on-stonefish-year-on-part-2.html.

Here is a good introduction by Jules Sylvester :


and by Brady Barr :


On a lighter note, here is something from Billy Connolly :

Billy Connolly - Stonefish or Worst Pain Known to Man

Read more about Mr Stonefish here :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/synanceiidae/horrida.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synanceia_horrida

Stonefish-ed almost @ St John's Island 15May2010

Stonefish-ed almost @ St John's Island 15May2010 from BeachBum on Vimeo.

Was out on an early morning 4am trip at St John's Island and kept a lookout for the dreaded hollow cheeked stonefish. I did not locate any amongst the intertidal pools but a shout from the others saw me carefully walking over. One of the others had narrowly escaped stepping on it whilst being distracted by a small blue-spotted stingray.

The stonefish has an extremely rigid front but a soft tail end.

The underside is reddish whilst the topside is usually a dirty brown being covered by sediment and algae....perfect camouflage!. Strangely the gills are yellowish orange.

Stonefish are almost always seen in the intertidal zones with their tails curled. Perhaps this is to ready themselves to raise their spines when needed.

Find out more about this interesting fish here :

http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/synanceiidae/horrida.htm

Other blogs about the trip :-

http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2010/05/fishy-morning-at-st-johns.html

http://sgn090608.blogspot.com/2010/05/100515-st-johns-island.html

http://wondercreation.blogspot.com/2010/05/colourful-st-johns-reef.html

http://wondercreation.blogspot.com/2010/05/half-snorkelling-at-new-stretch-of-st.html

http://wondercreation.blogspot.com/2010/05/brittle-star-hitching-ride-on-jellyfish.html

Beautiful Cyrene 6 - Mr Stonefish (in abandoned trap)

Beautiful Cyrene - Mr Stonefish from BeachBum on Vimeo.

Synanceja horrida
With a name like 'horrida', one can only imagine the terror this fish inflicts. This one was about 25cm long and was sitting in an abandoned fish cage. Actually, it was mostly out of water already as the tide was very low. Surprising that it did not make much effort to move into deeper water. I had actually thought it was a piece of stone but then wondered what a piece of rock was doing in a fish trap. Upon closer inspection, I saw it was a stonefish. And although it was mostly out of water due to the low tide, it was very much alive. I moved the entire fishtrap towards a deeper pool which you see in the videoclip. It's underside was a reddish orange although the topside was the colour of brown mud. It did not flinch one bit whilst I was moving the cage...it just sat still and quiet...like a stone would. No wonder it is so difficult to see in the shallows or amongst rocks.

This stonefish is seen in a long abandoned fishtrap on Cyrene reef with a background of the petrochemical industries on Jurong Island. Abandoned fishtraps are a danger to marine organisms as they continue to trap and kill indiscriminately. I widenened the holes in this one to make it impossible for any fish to stay trapped when the tide was up.

Read about the dangers of a Stonefish sting :-
annals.edu.sg/pdf200408/V33N4p515.pdf

Other interesting links :-
habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/marinefish/text/256.htm
http://www.wildsingapore.com.sg/wildfilms/blog/2006/03/when-you-are-down-on-your-luck-keep.html