Pulau Sekudu: The Frog Island

16 May 2010 - Pulau Sekudu, or Frog Island, is located just off Chek Jawa on Pulau Ubin. As it is now part of the Chek Jawa wetlands, a permit from NParks is needed to land on the island. This is my first visit to this island of beautiful rock formations.

The shore of Sekudu is quite similar to that of Changi's. Many Flowery Sea Pens of all colours were found this morning.

also in abundance were various types of anemones.

this anemone lookalike is actually a White Spiral Fan Worm. This animal is very sensitive to disturbances and will retract into its tube at the slightest sign of danger.

another type of worm spotted today is the Blue-lined Flatworm (Pseudoceros sp.).

this is the Little Ruby Flatworm (Phrikoceros baibaiye). My first time seeing it. Isn't it pretty?

another first for me today is this Denison's Nudibranch (Dendrodoris denisoni).

and this is another first - a beautiful Gymnodoris Nudibranch! No idea what species it is though...

a pretty Pink Moon Snail.

the insides of an open clam...

Mei Lin spotted this Red Shrimp.

This is a Spearer Mantis Shrimp (Harpiosquilla sp.). They have strong, sharp pincers. Do not touch!

Arrow-head Spider Crab (Menatheius sp.)

Marcus found this weird crab. No idea what species it is...

Stone Crab aka Thunder Crab (Myomenippe hardwickii) hiding under a rock.

Quite a number of octopuses were spotted this morning...

Three-spined Toadfish (Batrachomoeus trispinosus). I finally heard its croak today. It really does sound like a frog! =D

This is the Garlic Bread Sea Cucumber (Holothuria scabra).

Big Synaptid Sea Cucumber. Saw two of them today.

White Sea Urchin (Salmacis sp.).

another type of sea urchin - the Pencil Sea Urchin aka Thorny Sea Urchin (Prionocidaris sp.). Sharp-eyed Mei Lin spotted this tiny specimen.

Like the shores of Changi, Pulau Sekudu is equally star-studded! This is an orange Crown Sea Star (Asterina coronata).

and this neat-looking star is the Biscuit Sea Star (Goniodiscaster scaber).

Cake Sea Stars (Anthenea aspera). These stars can be found in a variety of colours and patterns.

This is a Painted Sand Star (Astropecten sp.).

My favourite sea star of all is the Knobbly Sea Star (Protoreaster nodosus). This is my first sighting of a knobbly on the northern shore.

The team even found a juvenile Knobbly!

here's a look at its underside...

the special find for today's trip - a rare Pink Sand Dollar (Peronella lesueuri)!

The frog-shaped boulder on Pulau Sekudu. This is just one of the many stunning rocks on the island that had been shaped by the forces of nature. =)

Read also:

• Chay Hoon - Checking up Pulau Sekudu...
  
• Kok Sheng - The froggy Sekudu 2010
  
• Marcus - Starstruck on Sekudu
  
• Mei Lin - Fantastic time at Sekudu
  
• Ria - Frog Island annual check up

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.....