strange anemone @ terumbu raya 09Feb2009

strange anemone @ terumbu raya 09Feb2009 from BeachBum on Vimeo.
Came across this strange anemone (most of them are new to me anyway!).
Appearing black from far away...it was actually closer to a very dark reddish brown from up close.

my foot, being in the wrong place, was responsible for mucking up the water coming into the pool which contained the anemone...this is evident from all the particles floating into the scene. I decided to abandon the anemone for the time being and looked around for something to mark the spot. The good thing about submerged reefs like Terumbu Raya is that floating rubbish tends to float on with each high tide. There was almost nothing to be seen except for a coke can which had got stuck in the mud. I emptied it and placed in on a nearby rock and moved on.

Later Stephen came by and said he had seen the anemone too but that it had disappreared into a hole. When I went back to the coke can...the anemone was nowhere to be seen....all that remained was a hole in the sand. And it was about time to leave the terumbu.

More about this anemone here :
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2009/02/strange-anemone-from-pulau-semakau.html

Turns out that this is Actinostephanus haeckeli and it is "known from the western rim of the Pacific."

Cool! that Singapore has them too!

More about the trip here :
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2009/02/reefs-of-raya.html
http://wildshores.blogspot.com/2009/02/maiden-trip-to-terumbu-raya.html