Of Stingray and Stonefish

15 May 2010 - Was out at 4am this morning to explore St. John's Island. Although initially a little bleary-eyed (I had to wake up at 2.30am), all feelings of sleepiness disappeared the moment I set foot on the island. St. John's Island is home to many beautiful marine life!

Marcus spotted this octopus gliding through the water. This fella was not at all shy, and allowed us to follow it around for quite a while.

We saw quite a number of this Red Egg Crab (Atergatis integerrimus) on the shore today. Also spotted in abundance this morning were Brown Egg Crabs (Atergatis floridus) and Mosaic Reef Crabs (Lophozozymus pictor). These Xanthid crabs are highly poisonous and should not be eaten.

Saron Shrimp (Family Hippolytidae). This is my first time seeing this colourful shrimp with beautiful patterns.

Chay Hoon spotted this Very Long Ribbon Worm (Baseodiscus delineatus). It's probably longer than 1m. I couldn't see where it starts or ends...

and here's another type of worm - the White-Orange Black Flatworm (Pseudobiceros uniarborensis).

This is the common, but still very beautiful, Blue-lined Flatworm (Pseudoceros sp.)

Kok Sheng found this strange slug which no one had ever seen before... hmm... could it be a new species?

Also seen today is this beautiful Ornate Leaf Slug (Elysia ornata).

And here's another first sighting for me - a Blue Dragon Nudibranch (Pteraeolidia ianthina)! Isn't it beautiful? Am really happy to see one as I kept missing out when the rest spotted it on other shores.

Spider Conch (Lambis lambis). Saw a number of them today too...

James showed me this colony of Beaded Corallimorphs.

The only sea cucumber I saw today - Black Long Sea Cucumber (Holothuria leucospilota).

No idea what fish this is...

Another first sighting for me - a Blue-spotted Fantail Ray (Taeniura lymma)! Unlike most of its counterparts, this fish was not very shy, and actually swam right up to our feet!

We all got a little nervous when it came up close. See the barbs at its tail? We were afraid it might suddenly whip its tail and injure us!

And while we were distracted by the stingray, I suddenly noticed a stone that had white tips. Thinking that I might have imagined seeing a frowny face, I decided to bend over for a closer look. And what I saw made adrenalin course through my body - this is no doubt a stonefish, and Wee Hock's heel was less than 15cm from it!

This is what the Hollow-cheeked Stonefish (Synanceia horrida) looked like when I first spotted it. If not for its slightly opened mouth, we would have missed it altogether and one of us might accidentally step on it! *shudders*

Here's another shot of the stonefish. And today, for the first time, I actually saw the fish swim! Stonefishes usually stay perfectly still even when disturbed, but this fish actually swam away when we shone our torchlight on it. Check out Andy's blog for a cool video of what the stonefish is like underwater.

It was really creepy to find the stonefish, especially since we saw it immediately after a comment James made - "If I really have to step on one, I would rather it be a stingray than a stonefish." Of course, none of us would want to be stung by a stingray, stonefish, or any other animals for that matter! This is yet another timely reminder that we have to be extremely careful when out on the shore. Mother Nature is beautiful, but it can turn pretty nasty too!

Terumbu Raya Rocks!

2 May 2010 - The team was out this beautiful Sunday morning to look for giant clams at Terumbu Raya, a submerged reef off Pulau Semakau.

Terumbu Raya means "The Great Submerged Reef" and this shore is indeed marvellous. The team made lots of wonderful finds!

James found this Fluted Giant Clam (Tridacna squamosa) near the reef edge. Isn't the lined pattern on its mantle pretty?

and at the same time, Kok Sheng found this beautiful Burrowing Giant Clam (Tridacna crocea) within metres from the fluted giant clam James found!

Further on, James also found the shell of a recently dead Bear Paw Giant Clam (Hippopus hippopus)! This rare clam is believed to be extinct in Singapore.

It is still the jellyfish season and the team saw a few of this Ribbon Jellyfish (Chrysaora sp.). This animal packs a powerful sting, so do not touch it!

These two pygmy squids (Idiosepius sp.) were having a good old tug-of-war over a shrimp and it was really interesting to see them change colour in an instant.

Spotted also were two clusters of squid eggs lying side-by-side.

Mei Lin found this tiny False Clown Anemonefish (Amphiprion ocellaris) hiding among the tentacles of a Giant Carpet Anemone (Stichodactyla gigantea).

And lying perfectly still below the anemonefish is this almost transparent shrimp. This shrimp could hardly be seen if not for the colourful spots on its tail!

Spotted in another giant carpet anemone is this beautiful Five-spot Anemone Shrimp (Periclimenes brevicarpalis).

Kok Sheng found this stunning Gymnodoris Nudibranch (Gymmodoris rublopabulosa). Love its bright colours!

Also seen were a few of these Pimply Phyllid Nudibranch (Phyllidiella pustulosa).

This common Blue-lined Flatworm (Pseudoceros sp.) is the only flatworm I saw today...

A beautiful stone? Nah, this is the White-rumped Sea Cucumber (Actinopyga lecanora). It is also known as the Stonefish Sea Cucumber as it resembles a smooth stone when disturbed.

This Purple Sea Cucumber is more commonly found on our northern shores so it was a nice surprise to see this on Terumbu Raya.

And last but not least, our most exciting, special, and rarest find of the day - a Tiger Cowrie (Cypraea tigris)! Chay Hoon and Mei Lin spotted it at the same time and there was a good commotion as the two of them squealed in delight over this marvellous find!

Apparently, this beautiful and rare cowrie had only been spotted in dive trips, and this is our first intertidal record. =)

Here's what the cowrie looks like with its mantle fully extended... I guess that's how it got its name?

and this is what the shell looks like, when the mantle is retracted...

the underside of the cowrie, with its strong muscular foot to flip itself over when overturned. awww... isn't the snail pretty?

Terembu Raya is also home to many beautiful corals and it is particularly breathtaking at the reef edge with many different types of corals. Do check out Kok Sheng's blog for his "half-snorkelling" adventure and underwater shots of the corals at the reef edge!

Read also:

• Kok Sheng - The Great Reef lives up to its name
• Ria - The other side of Terumbu Raya
• James - 100502 Terumbu Raya
• Mei Lin - Clam-tiful Day
• Chay Hoon - Mollusca Day @ Terumbu Raya.....

Stargazing at Pulau Semakau

20 March 2010 - It has been years since I peeked through a telescope at the wonders of our night sky and I looked forward to my first overnight stargazing session on Pulau Semakau with much anticipation.

Together with members of The Astronomical Society of Singapore (TASOS), the group of about 40 camped out at the southern point of Pulau Semakau on Saturday night to marvel at our celestial wonders.

Unfortunately, the sky was cloudy most of the night and many participants decided to retire early. But for the few of us who persisted, we were rewarded with a wonderful display from the heavens as the sky began clearing intermittently from 3am.

We were treated to a glittering display of twinkling stars as constellations such as Scorpius, Sagittarius and the Southern Cross (Crux) stood out against the dark sky. We even caught a faint glimpse of the Milky Way! This was really an eye-opener as I never thought we will be able to see our own galaxy in light-polluted Singapore.

Other wondrous sights of the night include the open star clusters of M6, M7 and the Jewel Box (NGC 4755), globular star cluster Omega Centauri (NGC 5139), planetary nebula M57 (aka Ring Nebula), double star Albireo, Mars, Saturn, and 4 meteors!

Here are some photos of the night to share... =)

TASOS members sharing their knowledge of the night sky with participants...

Can you spot the constellations in the sky?

They are (from left to right): Lupus the wolf, Centaurus the Centaur, and Crux the Southern Cross. In the centre of Centaurus is Omega Centauri, the brightest and largest globular cluster in our Milky Way. It looks like a fuzzy cotton ball through the telescope. =)

A plane flew past as I was capturing this 30 sec exposure of the southern sky...

The southern sky is my favourite part of the sky as the area is rich with bright stars and deep sky objects. Can you spot Crux (aka Southern Cross) in the photo above?

Unlike the northern sky which has Polaris (the North Star) to indicate north, there are no bright stars in the southern sky to mark the South Celestial Pole. To find south, extend a line from Gacrux (the topmost star of Crux) to Acrux (the bottom-most star of Crux).

[Note: We are unable to see Polaris in Singapore as the star hovers just 1 degree above the horizon in our equatorial latitude.]

Can you identify what constellation this is?

It's Scorpius the scorpion. Don't you think the star pattern really do look like a scorpion? The beautiful open cluster M7 can be seen right next to the scorpion's sting.

Here's another shot of Scorpius' tail and M7 above a tree...

What about this constellation? Can you spot the star pattern?

It's Sagittarius the archer and its famous Teapot asterism. An asterism is a pattern of stars seen in the sky which is not an official constellation. If you look closely, the Teapot asterism even has a cloud of "steam" coming out from its spout! This cloud is actually a rich area of the Milky Way. Also seen in this photo are the open clusters M6 and M7, and the Lagoon Nebula, M8.

The Scorpius-Sagittarius region of the night sky is in a rich area of the Milky Way. Can you spot Scorpius in the photo above?

Scorpius, with its tail in the Milky Way. Notice the band of "clouds" in the scorpion's tail? This band of clouds is actually the Milky Way!

Can you see the Milky Way? Its brightest part is to the middle-left of this photo!

and here's another shot of the Milky Way - seen as the white "cloud" and dark patches in the middle of this photo. Stunning, isn't it?

All too soon, the sky grew light and it was time to call it a day (or more accurately, night).

Many thanks to the good people of TASOS for sharing with us their knowledge and love of astronomy and staying up all night to show us the wonders of the night sky. It was definitely a most rewarding and educational experience!