Unknown Creature @ Chek Jawa, 30th Dec

I was really anticipating this walk, since I was so bored at home. As I crossed over to the coral rubble area, this strange creature caught my eye. I have COMPLETELY no idea what sort of an animal it may be. It seems to be some sort of half-cnidirian, half-mollusc animal, although I found it attached to a sea cucumber, an echinoderm. Then again, could it be a crustacean that has lost its exoskeleton? This shows the underside of this alien-like animal. Perhaps this strange creature will be placed in its very own group! These pretty-looking candy hydroids (Order Hydrozoa) were growing on the pillars, along with the ascidians and sea sponges. Turns out the pillars have become a magnet for new life. I also found a hoof-shield limpet (Scutus sp.) under a rock. Unfortunately, I couldn't get any cowries... In fact, all the cowries were actually found at the pillars of the boardwalk too! Another sign that Chek Jawa's artificial facilities have not damaged the biodiversity on Chek Jawa, but improved it! There were lots of noble volutes (Cymbiola nobilis) and their eggs at the rocky shore! The noble volutes are very common on Chek Jawa. More pictures of the noble volutes. The noble volute should never be disturbed while laying eggs, or else it would leave the eggs, and never come back to continue laying them. In the murky waters, I first suspected this to be a dead carpet anemone... It turned out to be something much worse! A decomposing blue-spotted fantail ray (Taeniura lymma)! I wonder what happened to it? A yellow plastic bag! How inconsiderate of those who threw it here! They have spoiled the magnificient scenery and biodiversity of Chek Jawa! This Flat-fingered snapping shrimp (Alpheus brevicristatus) is one of the few snapping shrimp species found on our shores. They are truly a masterpiece of nature, having developed such a powerful claw, which is able to release a shockwave that is capable of stunning their prey form afar. Hmmm...what strangely coloured sponges! Could it be a type of dying sponge that has lost its colour, or a new species all together? We still have a lot more to learn about Singapore's shores! As I returned back from the coral rubble area, the sky began to drizzle, so I had to move faster. Ponchos up, everyone! I was in a rush, in case it started to pour, so I quickly took a family photo of a group of common sea stars (Archaster typicus) and plain sand stars (Astropecten sp.). Can you spot another two-armed painted sand star (Astropecten sp.)? These strange fishes were all found in the same container. At the very top is a small black fish, which may be a juvenile scorpionfish, although its difficult to determine which species.The one in the middle, belly up, is probably a milkfish, according to Alan. Lastly, this is probably a strapweed filefish (Pseudomonacanthus macrurus). I saw this Haddon's carpet anemone (Stichodactyla Haddoni), fully exposed under water. Carpet anemones at the coral rubble area are usually submerged submerged. The short sticky tentacles don't sting, but trap prey instead. Under the floating pontoon was a spearer mantis shrimp (Harpiosquilla sp.). It was probably adult-sized. In certain regions of the world, they are harvested and eaten. After all the groups were down, I decided to do some more exploring at the coral rubble area. Then, this very pretty snapping shrimp rushed out from the seagrass. Upon checking it on the web later on, I discovered it to be a rarely seen banded snapping shrimp! I guess it was lost from its burrow, since it was constantly scuttling around, making it terribly difficult to photograph. What a delight to see this tiny pufferfish, which was only about 1 cm long at the coral rubble area! I've never seen one before! The pufferfish actually needs its deadly venom during the early stages of life, when puffing up is no use to large predators who can still swallow it easily. But of course, it didn't stop this adorable little fellow from trying when it felt the movements of my boot! In Japan, the pufferfish is known as fugu, and Japanese diners would treat this animal as delicacy, although their dining with death! However, pufferfish reared in captivity do not seem to have the deadly poison. Perhaps the poison is obtained from the pufferfish's diet and environment. As I was hunting around for a seahorse in some of the seagrass pools (Though I never actually succeed T_T ) I saw something moving slowly. A seahorse? Nope, a common but very well camouflaged elbow crab (Family Parthenopidae). This elbow crab is so well camouflaged that its almost always over-looked until it starts moving. Even though the light drizzle stopped, powerful winds (by Singapore standards :D ) soon struck the shores! 2 Years after the deadly flood which killed most of the animals on Chek Jawa, the organisms are making a slow but steady recovery. Its still not too difficult too find a knobbly sea star (Protoreaster nodosus). Hopefully one day, animals like the knobbly sea star will make be able to thrive on this natural haven again. As we moves back to the information kiosk, this Malayan water monitor (Varanus salvator) made its way down to the mudflat, probably foraging for food. How wonderful to end the fantastic year of 2009 at Chek Jawa. I hope next year, Chek Jawa will continue to recover.