upside down jellyfish @ pulau semakau shore - Aug 2014

The upside down jellyfish is a strange animal that lives most of its life upside down. This one was in a shallow intertidal lagoon and actually looked like a mass of algae at first glance. In fact, this jellyfish does have algae in its arms which it reveals to the sun when upside down. The algae (zooxanthellae) produces food via photosynthesis which it shares with the jellyfish. This explains why the jellyfish is usually found upside down with its arms containing the zooxanthellae exposed to the sun. It can also catch planktonic prey with its arms. This one was about 7cm in diameter.

upside down jellyfish @ pulau semakau - Aug 2014 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Find out more about this unique species of jellyfish :

http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/cnidaria/others/jellyfish/upsidedown.htm

banded file snake, hunting @ pulau semakau shore - Aug 2014

This snake was seen actively hunting at just about the break of dawn as there was already some daylight peeking through the clouds. It was about 50cm long and totally covered with algae. It was so well camouflaged that it was impossible to make out the characteristic black and white banding that this snake has. File snakes have peculiar rough skin and this explains the general name for this species. The skin is also sort of crinkly and appears bigger than the snake wearing it such that the skin folds over as the snake bends laterally.

It went about actively smelling its way around the lagoon no doubt looking for hidden prey such as prawns. I did not see this snake using its tongue underwater like most terrestrial snakes do to taste the air. Does it have an ability to smell the water around it without having to flick its tongue in and out?

banded file snake, hunting @ pulau semakau shore - Aug 2014 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Find out more about this amazing snake:

http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/vertebrates/snakes/granulatus.htm

common seastar, undercover @ semakau - Aug 2014

The Semakau shore has a lot of common sea stars...a lot.  One has to be careful to avoid the sea stars.

Common sea stars have a habit of digging themselves into the sand. From observations over quite a few shore trips, some specimens start to dig in when a light shines on them. Others however do not and continue to stay at the surface above the sand even in bright sunlight. It could be that the stars become conditioned gradually to light and they tend to shy away from 'sudden' exposure to light when already conditioned to a dark environment.

This star did not dig in completely in the time that i've seen other specimens completely cover themselves. Perhaps that it had become somewhat conditioned to the light.

How do sea stars 'see' the light? Do sea stars have eyes?

Find out the answer here :

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/01/140107-starfish-sea-star-eyes-coral-reef-ocean-animal-science/

http://marinelife.about.com/od/invertebrates/f/Do-Starfish-Have-Eyes.htm

http://marinelife.about.com/od/invertebrates/tp/seastarfacts.htm

https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/wild-things/finally-evidence-starfish%E2%80%99s-eyes-let-it-see

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/science-sushi/2014/01/07/sea-stars-see/

http://news.discovery.com/animals/starfish-see-the-world-using-eyes-on-the-tips-of-their-arms-130706.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130705101826.htm

common seastar, undercover @ semakau - Aug 2014 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Find out much more about the common sea star here :

http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/echinodermata/asteroidea/archaster.htm

acorn worm, casting @ semakau - Aug 2014

Now this has to be one of the most interesting and important animals on a shore. Have you often seen spiral piles of sand sitting on the shores? There's usually a small inch-long tube of yellow which seemed to push out the spiral tubes of sand. What's all this about?

The clip shows an acorn worm at work. The first part of the clip is speeded up 4x. And then the regular realtime speed-time insensitive clip follows. Enjoy! (... Let me know if you watch the whole clip without falling asleep. If you have trouble falling asleep, watch the clip! This should cure insomnia.).

These worms swallow up mud, sand and detritus below the surface and poop (or 'cast') out the sand and mud minus some detritus which is absorbs as the sand passes through it. They can be likened to earthworms and help to churn the top layers of sand and mud.

acorn worm, casting @ semakau - Aug 2014 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Find out more about this amazing ubiquitous shore creature....without which our shores will be so much more.... solid and compacted.

http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/worm/enteropneusta/enteropneusta.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acorn_worm

http://www.mbari.org/news/homepage/2011/enteropneusts/enteropneusts.html

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/chordata/hemichordata.html

http://www.mesa.edu.au/marine_worms/marine_worms05.asp

http://cronodon.com/BioTech/Hemichordates.html

equatorial spitting cobra - hunting @ SBWR - August 2014

Two other park visitors had walked past this beauty which was a little way off the large path. I only spotted it because it lowered its raised head and started moving towards the mangrove tangle. If it had not moved, I may not have seen it just about six feet away. S who was beside me muttered 'King Cobra!' in excitement despite him having seen both types of snakes up close before. The mistakenly ID was for but a moment as he soon corrected himself. This was not a King but just as worthy of a good measure of precaution, an Equatorial Spitting Cobra. This specimen was about 1.3m long.

It slithered effortlessly along the mangrove tangle of roots and mud,  flicking its forked tongue actively tasting the air and the ground before it. It kept this up for about 25 metres occasionally disappearing into a hole or behind a mound of mud and roots. 

One small monitor lizard shot off like a bullet as soon as it sensed the approaching cobra. Meanwhile the mangrove was waking up with the calls of various birds peppering the morning air. There was a Changeable Hawk Eagle (or Crested Serpent Eagle as one had been seen recently - both have similar calls), a White-Bellied Sea Eagle, the Common Iora and of course the popular Oriental Magpie Robin amongst others.

A bunch of noisy visitors could be heard somewhere nearby and including the bark of a dog. Noisy visitors just like stray dogs are bad news for the reserve. They scare animals away.  The cobra took a moment to stop when the noisy vibrations from the visitors reached it. 

The snake seemed to have not jet black scales but a slightly blue tinge to its scales. It also seemed to have three ticks or imperfections. I hope it manages to get rid of these ticks when it next moults.

The snake did not mind S and me following it and just kept on looking for breakfast. It soon decided to cross the path before disappearing down a hole in the embankment.

What a wonderful experience!

equatorial spitting cobra - hunting @ SBWR - August 2014 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

[The snake was not handled in any way. No sticks, tongs, whatever. Just with a healthy dose of respect and gratefulness that it allowed us to share its path for a few moments. 

Using any tool, instrument or contraption to catch any animal in a nature reserve is an offence under the Parks and Trees Act and Regulations. Also, the capturing or displacing of any animal is also an offence. Leave the animals alone and observe them from a distance without disturbing them and you'll be OK.]

Find out more about this wonderful snake here :

http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/snakes/equatorial_spitting_cobra.htm

{[no artificial light sources were used in filming and care was taken to avoid any interference to the subject]}

spotted black flatworm @ terumbu semakau - July 2014

Came across this beautiful spotted black flatworm cruising a shallow intertidal pool on the exposed reef. This one was about 8 cm long. For flatworms, this is a rather large specimen as some of them can be really small. Its undulating form carpeted the sandy substrate as it moved with an amazing gracefulness.

spotted black flatworm @ terumbu semakau - July 2014 from SgBeachBum on Vimeo.

Find out more about Singapore's flatworms :

http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/worm/polycladida/acanthozoon.htm

http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/worm/polycladidafi.htm

http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/worm/polycladida/polycladida.htm