Sundial Snail @ Pulau Hantu 12April2009

sundial snail @ Pulau Hantu 12Apr2009 from BeachBum on Vimeo.

It's very rare to see this beautiful snail alive. Often, only the empty shells are seen.
The video clip has been speeded up by a factor of 2x. Imagine how slow this snail moves!
Interestingly, the sundial snail has an operculum which it uses to 'shut itself into it's shell.
Notice also has striped antennae.

condo sponge w brittlestars @ P Hantu 12April2009

condo sponge w brittlestars 12Apr2009 from BeachBum on Vimeo.

Various types of sponge are commonly found on Singapore's intertidal reefs. This videoed sponge is ball shaped and contains numerous holes out of which can be seen the many arms of tiny brittlestars. The ball sponge was sized similar to a tennis ball....so you can imagine how small the brittlestars were!...supersmall!!!

The ball sponges can be likened to a condominium which has different apartments each with it's own resident tenant. However, you can find not only brittlestars but also other animals like barnacles. Towards the 50 second mark, you can see, at the lower left part of the frame, a fan like structure sticking out from one of the 'apartments'. This are the feeding tentacles of a barnacle!

Want to know more about sponges, brittlestars and barnacles? Have a look here! :-
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/porifera/suberites.htm
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/echinodermata/ophiuroidea/tinysponge.htm
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/crustacea/othercrust/ciriipedia/cirripedia.htm

Yellow Lipped Sea Krait @ Pulau Hantu 12Apr2009

Yellow Lipped Sea Krait @ Pulau Hantu 12Apr2009 from BeachBum on Vimeo.

Came across this yellow-lipped sea krait on Hantu's wonderful reef. It was busy looking for food in nooks and crannies and did not at all mind the human watching it. It came up for air after diving for about 2 minutes.

This snake has got a highly toxic venom but it is also non-aggressive by nature.
Note that it has a flat tail. This helps propel the snake through water much like a boat paddle.
The specimen in the video was between 40 to 50 cm long and was about 1 cm thick. Adult specimens would be about double the size.

Cute Cuttlefish@ChekJawa 29March2009

Came across this cute little cuttlefish hiding in a Halophila ovalis seagrass pool after an early morning Team Seagrass monitoring survey with the visiting students & profs from Duke University.
Cuttlefish@ChekJawa29Mar2009 from BeachBum on Vimeo.

Around the 31sec mark, the cuttlefish sticks one of it's tentacles down and starts to stir up the sediment....perhaps to create a sediment screen? Hmmm.....a bit camera shy?

More about cuttlefish here :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/mollusca/cephalopoda/glittering.htm

More about the trip here on the Team Seagrass Blog :
http://teamseagrass.blogspot.com/2009/03/chek-jawa-29-mar-09.html

brown stripe flatworm @ labrador nature reserve 10Feb2009

brown stripe flatworm @ labrador nature reserve 10Feb2009 from BeachBum on Vimeo.

This one was about 5cm long. It performed its graceful swimming dance wonderfully.
Wish I could move like that!


Did you that there are over 18,000 species of flatworm?
Read more about flatworms here :
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/worm/polycladida/gratus.htm
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/worm/polycladida/polycladida.htm

Terumbu Raya Pan 09Feb2009

terumbu raya pan 09Feb2009 from BeachBum on Vimeo.

A pan of Terumbu Raya just off Pulau Semakau's seagrass lagoon and reef. You can make out the Sargassum ring around the edge of the submerged reef. At higher tides, this ring of sargassum provides a raised barrier around the entire reef providing a refuge for fish and marine creatures of all sizes. Together with the Pulau Semakau Reef and Seagrass lagoon, this area is an invaluable oasis of refuge for marine life and go a long way to ensuring that the local marine ecosystem is able to replenish, sustain and grow.

The reef is close to Pulau Bukom which houses Shell's massive refining complex(the silver tubs and red&white chimneys seen in the pan).

Find out more about Raya's magnficent reef :-
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2009/02/reefs-of-raya.html