frogfish @ Little Sisters' Island 03Jan2010

frogfish from BeachBum on Vimeo.

This frogfish was a surprise towards the end of our reefwalkwell after te tide had started it's return.

JK was wandering around making a few last searches with hit torch in the dark of the eveningbefore leaving the lagoon when he came across a small greenish sponge in the sand near a rock in very little water.

"ay, what a weird sponge...... no, wait! it moved...it has a tail...AY, what fish is this? This is so weird!!!".

CH came by and promptly identified it as a frogfish. Frogfish are very rarely spotted on our reefwalks as they are masters of camouflage (much like the dangerous stonefish). This particular specimen was on a higher part of the intertidal zone in hte lagoon and it must have been out of water for some time when the tide ran out.

Read about JK's blogpost here :
http://sgn090608.blogpost.com/2010/01/100103-little-sisters.html

Read more about frogfishes here :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/antennariidae/trisignatus.htm
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/antennariidae/black.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frogfish
http://www.frogfish.ch/frogfish-behavior.html

black sea cucumbers @ 02 & 03 Jan 2010

blackseasucumbers from BeachBum on Vimeo.

Here are some black sea cucumbers (Holothuria leucospilota) observed during trips to Pulau Terkukor and Little Sisters island in early Jan 2010.

Read more about these amazing animals here :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/echinodermata/holothuroidea/leucospilota.htm
http://people.hws.edu/fieldguide/show.asp?ID=121
http://www.sealifebase.org/summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=83487
http://singaporefauna.blogspot.com/2007/02/holothuria-leucospilota.html

If you would like the cure for insomnia related to a study of this cucumber, here it is : http://www.springerlink.com/content/k736j21447058834/fulltext.pdf?page=1

Other blogposts about the trip :

• Clam hunt at Terkukor from WildSingapore
• Land of the Clam Graveyard from Psychedelic Nature.
• Pulau Tekukor from Singapore Nature.

Octopus Hunt @ 03Jan2010

octopus hunt from BeachBum on Vimeo

Octopuses hunt mainly at night. They hide during the day time and come out at about dusk from rock crevices or holes.

They move about silently spreading their tentacles around and into rocks and coral boulders looking for crabs and fish.

The octopus featured in the videoclip was about palm sized and was itself heavily camouflaged with a dark mottled skin pattern. Further, it's skin was contorted into a warty fashion. It got lucky feeling under the rock and seems to have caught a fish which must have been hiding under the rock. The fish did put up a good fight trying to escape but the octopus held firm despite the fish's kicks and jolts.

Nemo on Anemone @ Little Sisters Island 03Jan2010

nemo2010 from BeachBum on Vimeo.

The rising tide enabled the anemone to show it's true form. At the lowest tide, the anemone was almost out of water and the resident false clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris) was nowhere to be seen...possibly hiding below the anemone's folds. This is the same anemone pictured in an earlier clip glowing in the dark when a bluish light was cast upon it.

Once the incoming tide floated the anemone's disc, the very active false clownfish appeared. It was about 4cm long and constantly kept moving about amongst the anemone's stinging tentacles. Any other fish would have been stung by the numerous stinging tentacles. Human skin is supposedly too thick for the stinging cells to penetrate effectively but one can usually feel a little numb around the contact points after prolonged contact.

Interesting fact : 'all clownfish are born male'

There may have been smaller clownfish hiding below the anemone. The largest nemo on an anemone is typically female whilst all the smaller ones are male. When the dominant female dies, the next largest nemo switches from being a male to be a female.

Read more about clownfish trans-sexuality here :
Ask a Geneticist : http://www.thetech.org/genetics/ask.php?id=28
FAQs on Clownfish : http://www.chehaliscoral.com/page.php?id=10
Redefining Nemo : http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/InNews/nemo2006.html
Smithsonian Zoogoer : http://nationalzoo.si.edu/Publications/ZooGoer/2004/2/wildersideofsex.cfm

For general info about the false clownfish :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/pomacentridae/ocellaris.htm
and it's host anemone : http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/cnidaria/actiniaria/gigantea.htm

More links :
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/speciesSummary.php?ID=6509
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/innews/clownfish2003.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clownfish

bioluminescent anemone @ little sisters island 03Jan2010

bioluminescent anemone from BeachBum on Vimeo.

I was curious to see if the anemone did give off or reflect certain wavelengths of light. It does seem to react to the blue LED light from my torch. The tips of the tentacles were bright blue-green for a few moments. You can see the difference as compared to when the xenon bulb was used towards the end of the clip.

Various other organisms like some corals and zooanthids also exihbited a similar reaction. This will make for interesting experimentation on future biodiversity exploration trips.

Find out more about this anemone here :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/cnidaria/actiniaria/gigantea.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stichodactyla_gigantea

Cute Cute Cephalopod

cute cute squid from BeachBum on Vimeo.

There were a good many squid which started appearing when the tide turned shortly after dusk. They kept close to the cover of sargassum seaweed. The squid adopted various poses for the camera but interestingly enough did not try to propel away in a cloud of ink. This could have been because the animals were waiting for small fish to swim by...fishing.
Watch closely and you will see the chromatophores pulsating. Some parts of the cuttlefish, especially near the eyes seemed to have a iridiscent glow. However, these pencil squids did not exhibit the level skin colour changes like that seen in the octopuses and cuttlefish seen on Singapore's other shores. Those were visibly much more dynamic compared to the display showed by these pencil squids.

time of night : about 7.30pm
depth : about 10 to 15 cm
average length : about 7cm

I did have some confusing moments as to whether to describe the cephalopod as a squid or as a cuttlefish. I initially thought they were cuttlefish but later changed my mind because of the pencil like shape of this particular species. Cuttlefish apparently tend to be broader laterally. Well, they are cephalopods anyway!

Read more about them and other information about cephalopods here :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squid
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/mollusca/cephalopoda/squid.htm
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/mollusca/cephalopoda/loliginidae.htm
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/taxa/inverts/mollusca/cephalopoda.php
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/01/0108_040108_squidflashlight.html
http://www.cephbase.utmb.edu/
http://www.weichtiere.at/Mollusks/Kopffuesser/haupt.html


Question : how does one differentiate between a squid and a cuttlefish?
See one answer here http://www.cephbase.utmb.edu/TCP/faq/TCPfaq2b.cfm?ID=5

Another question : why are cuttlefish called cuttlefish?
Click here for the answer!!!