Highlights of the Lows: Jun 7-11
This week we did Changi with a vengence. From end to end. And it is still surprising what you can see on the shores!
Though the water is quite murky in some parts of Changi, the shores are very much alive. Green mussels (Perna viridis) grow thickly on any hard surface in the seawater. This particularly large clump was growing on just one rope. There was also a stretch of shore that was piled high with living 'see-ham' or cockle shells (Anadara granosa). It was impossible to walk without crunching on them...ouch. 'Gong-gong' (Strombus canarium) are also common on Changi. Most snails have a little 'door' called the operculum to seal the hole in the shell. The Gong-gong has a pointed knife-like operculum that is attached to a strong foot. The Gong-gong uses this to push against and thus hops along quickly, instead of slowly creeping along the bottom like other snails. The Gong-gong has large eyes on long stalks, probably to help it see where it is going as it moves much more quickly than other snails. This particular Gong-gong looked different from the usual Gong-gong, but possibly it's a young snail. Or perhaps something different altogether. I haven't found out yet.
We keep seeing this tiny little squid on all our shores. It can rapidly change from yellow to black. Octopuses are also common on Changi. This particular one was very well camouflaged among the muddy rocks where it was hiding. I only spotted it because of the jet of water it was shooting out. A marvellous surprise was a large dark orange, almost red, sea horse. Wai spotted it and Alan Tan took the photo. I was far away at the time :-(
We saw some of my favourite group of animals, the Echinoderms. These purple, pink and white creatures are often mistaken for worms. But they are actually sea cucumbers! Belonging to the Family Synaptidae, these soft, easily damaged animals are often found draped around brown colonial tunicates that look like melted chocolate on rocks. There were lots of black short-spined sea urchins (Temnopleurus toreumaticus)and one beautiful Pencil sea urchin (Prionocidaris bispinosa). The banded pink spines are spiny! There was also one solitary sand dollar (Arachoides placenta). We also saw other kinds of sea cucumbers as lots of sand stars (Astropecten sp).
Amazingly, you can find seafans on Changi! Though not as plentifully as on some of our undisturbed shores. These branching animals are related to corals. They are colonial animals with yellow, orange or red skeletons. When submerged, the tiny white polyps emerge to feed. Colourful branching hyroids, also a relative of corals, grew in little bunches on pilings and stones. These animals may be yellow, orange or pink.
There were lots and LOTS of these little fishes on Changi shores, sometimes in groups of 3-4. I've not seen this happen before. About 8cm long, at first I thought they were scorpionfishes, but a closer look suggests they are not. I still don't know what they are.
The most exciting find for me was Mr and Mrs Anemoneshrimp (Periclimes brevicarpalis) living happily on a carpet anemone. With five black-ringed orange spots on the tail and purple-purple tinged legs and pincers, they are mostly transparent with some large white spots here and there. We see them more often on the Southern Shores, so it was a pleasant surprise to meet them on Changi.
We had a great time too, on the trips to some of the Southern shores. Lots of nudibranchs, slugs, flatworms. Of course, corals galore! More photos another time...
Though the water is quite murky in some parts of Changi, the shores are very much alive. Green mussels (Perna viridis) grow thickly on any hard surface in the seawater. This particularly large clump was growing on just one rope. There was also a stretch of shore that was piled high with living 'see-ham' or cockle shells (Anadara granosa). It was impossible to walk without crunching on them...ouch. 'Gong-gong' (Strombus canarium) are also common on Changi. Most snails have a little 'door' called the operculum to seal the hole in the shell. The Gong-gong has a pointed knife-like operculum that is attached to a strong foot. The Gong-gong uses this to push against and thus hops along quickly, instead of slowly creeping along the bottom like other snails. The Gong-gong has large eyes on long stalks, probably to help it see where it is going as it moves much more quickly than other snails. This particular Gong-gong looked different from the usual Gong-gong, but possibly it's a young snail. Or perhaps something different altogether. I haven't found out yet.
We keep seeing this tiny little squid on all our shores. It can rapidly change from yellow to black. Octopuses are also common on Changi. This particular one was very well camouflaged among the muddy rocks where it was hiding. I only spotted it because of the jet of water it was shooting out. A marvellous surprise was a large dark orange, almost red, sea horse. Wai spotted it and Alan Tan took the photo. I was far away at the time :-(
We saw some of my favourite group of animals, the Echinoderms. These purple, pink and white creatures are often mistaken for worms. But they are actually sea cucumbers! Belonging to the Family Synaptidae, these soft, easily damaged animals are often found draped around brown colonial tunicates that look like melted chocolate on rocks. There were lots of black short-spined sea urchins (Temnopleurus toreumaticus)and one beautiful Pencil sea urchin (Prionocidaris bispinosa). The banded pink spines are spiny! There was also one solitary sand dollar (Arachoides placenta). We also saw other kinds of sea cucumbers as lots of sand stars (Astropecten sp).
Amazingly, you can find seafans on Changi! Though not as plentifully as on some of our undisturbed shores. These branching animals are related to corals. They are colonial animals with yellow, orange or red skeletons. When submerged, the tiny white polyps emerge to feed. Colourful branching hyroids, also a relative of corals, grew in little bunches on pilings and stones. These animals may be yellow, orange or pink.
There were lots and LOTS of these little fishes on Changi shores, sometimes in groups of 3-4. I've not seen this happen before. About 8cm long, at first I thought they were scorpionfishes, but a closer look suggests they are not. I still don't know what they are.
The most exciting find for me was Mr and Mrs Anemoneshrimp (Periclimes brevicarpalis) living happily on a carpet anemone. With five black-ringed orange spots on the tail and purple-purple tinged legs and pincers, they are mostly transparent with some large white spots here and there. We see them more often on the Southern Shores, so it was a pleasant surprise to meet them on Changi.
We had a great time too, on the trips to some of the Southern shores. Lots of nudibranchs, slugs, flatworms. Of course, corals galore! More photos another time...
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