Sentosa Blue Spotted Fantail Ray 15Nov2008

Came across this small blue-spotted fantail ray on Sentosa. It was swimming in the shallows probably looking for food like small shrimp or bottom dwelling fish. The disc was slightly bigger than my palm. This seems to be a first record for Sentosa's Tj Rimau reef although it is frequently seen on our other Southern islands.

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Sentosa Blue-Spotted Fantail Ray from BeachBum on Vimeo.

As with most marine ecosystems and organisms in Singapore waters, conservation should be a key concern for all Singaporeans. Amazing Singapore!. In which other capital city can you get to see such wildlife?

Want to know more about the blue spotted fantail ray? Visit wildsingapore.com
http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/fish/dasyatidae/lymma.htm

Evolving Tides by Peter Naylor

Came across this HD video on Vimeo.... beautifully done!


Evolving Tides from Peter Naylor on Vimeo.

A short wildlife film showing the wildlife that can be found along the North Norfolk Coast during the winter.
Directed & Produced by Peter Naylor
Written & Narrated by Martin Wase
A Fall Time Productions & Kestrel Films Short

Anemones & Kite Butterfly Fish @ Chek Jawa

Anemones & Kite Butterfly Fish @ Chek Jawa from BeachBum on Vimeo.

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This seems to be the 'season' for kite butterfly fish (Parachaetodon ocellatus). A good many juveniles were spotted at Chek Jawa by quite a few people (including some over on the Changi side).

The clip shows kite butterfly fish taking shelter in close proximity to two kinds of anemones. The first shows a green carpet anemone whilst the second shows a peacock anemone (see http://www.wildsingapore.com/chekjawa/text/p510.htm for more on anemones.)
"Many sea anemones have tentacles armed with nematocysts, stingers that can inject toxins. They also have stingers that produce only a long adhesive threads (called spirocysts). These make the tentacles sticky and are used to capture hard-bodied prey such as crabs. Tentacles then move the meal to the central mouth, which can expand wide to swallow it whole."

Noting that contact with the anemones could be potentially fatal to the fish, it is a wonder why the fish would want to be so close to the anemones. The carpet anemone stings only at the top and so the area below it could provide refuge for small marine organisms. The only organisms which seem to have immunity are anemone shrimps and clownfish. It is probable that the KBF take refuge knowing that although the anemone could kill them, it would also keep away other predators like larger fish.

The peacock anemone can be seen to attach some of it's tentacles to the KBF. At one point, the fish seems to be struggling and it manages to pull away from the sticky tentacle. Perhaps the KBF do have a limited immunity to the stinging cells of the anemone?

Sentosa shortclips

Sentosa shortclips - 17October2008 from BeachBum on Vimeo.

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This is a quick compilation of short clips shot at Sentosa after the Team Seagrass (http://teamseagrass.blogspot.com/2008/10/sentosa-17-oct-08.html) session.
The cast(in order of appearance) :-
1. File fish
2. Juvenile Kite Butterfly fish
3. anemone shrimp
4. plain shrimp
5. swimming crab

Synaptic Sea Cucumber @ Cyrene

Synaptic Sea Cucumber @ Cyrene Reef from BeachBum on Vimeo.

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Saw this synaptic sea cucumber at Cyrene Reef. It had body markings which were different from the others usually seen on the reef. The others usually have a dark brown or reddish body but this one had a patchwork of patterns along the length of the body.

Here is a link to another synaptic sea cucumber...
http://sgbeachbum.blogspot.com/2008/07/giant-mother-of-all-synaptic-sea.html

strange anemone@cyrene

Mysterious Anemone @ Cyrene from BeachBum on Vimeo.

Saw this lovely anemone on Cyrene in about 10cm of water.
It was about 9cm in diameter.
Anyone know what kind it is?
The central area looks as if it was designed to entice prey to come closer and take a bite.

Is this a new record for Singapore?