18 November 2009 - My first visit to Cyrene Reef! Was really looking forward to this trip as I know that I will finally get to see my very first knobbly sea star and lots of other interesting marine life! =)
It was drizzling when we set off. Everyone was a little concerned as no one wanted to miss visiting the shore due to bad weather!
Towing a little dinghy behind us... As there is no jetty on Cyrene, we had to transfer to the dinghy for landing. For a first timer like me, it's a pretty exciting experience!
Land ahoy! Cyrene Reef is located south of mainland Singapore, in the middle of a busy shipping lane. Although it is ringed by petrochemical plants on Jurong Island and Pulau Bukom, this beautiful reef is home to many interesting marine life!
The shore is populated with many Fan Clams. Watch out! Their razor-sharp edges that can give a pretty nasty cut.
And here's another one... Fan clams are easily overlooked as they are usually buried in the sand among seagrass with just 2 - 3cm of their shells sticking out.
Ornate Leaf Slugs seemed to be in season now... these beautiful slugs were spotted no less than 10 times today!
This Mosaic Dragonet came to "抢镜头" (steal the limelight) when I was trying to photograph the ornate leaf slug above...
This plastic-looking thing is a Sand Collar - the egg mass of a moon snail. The hole in the centre of the collar indicates the size of the snail!
Zoanthids. Do not touch them as some zoanthids contain powerful toxins to protect themselves against predators!
This rope-like creature is a Synaptid Sea Cucumber. A first sighting for me. Was kinda entertained by this fella as it kept "stretching" and "shrinking" itself... Reminds me of an accordion. =)
and here's another type of sea cucumber - the Garlic Bread Sea Cucumber.
This is a White Sea Urchin - another first for me. Saw quite a few of them today.
This beautiful urchin is the Long-spined Black Sea Urchin. This is definitely the prettiest specimen I've seen so far. I love it's white and purple hues. =)
Common Peacock Anemone. They can be found in a variety of colours.
Lots of Common Sea Stars were also spotted on the sandy shore...
And finally, my very first Knobbly Sea Star! This photogenic sea star can be found in a variety of colours and knob patterns.
Knobbly sea stars are often harvested for the live aquarium trade. As a result, they are now listed as 'Endangered' on the Red List of threatened animals of Singapore. Cyrene Reef is among the few places left in Singapore where they can be seen regularly.
And now, for the stellar find of the day...
a Pentaceraster Sea Star! This special sea star is a new record for Singapore and was first spotted in Cyrene Reef. Pentaceraster sea stars were previously known to exist only in the western Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.
My first visit to Cyrene Reef has been really eye-opening with many firsts. Even though it rained throughout the trip and made photography difficult, I'm really thankful for the good weather (read: no lightning) and the opportunity to visit this wonderful shore. Hope there'll be another chance for me to visit again! =)
It was drizzling when we set off. Everyone was a little concerned as no one wanted to miss visiting the shore due to bad weather!
Towing a little dinghy behind us... As there is no jetty on Cyrene, we had to transfer to the dinghy for landing. For a first timer like me, it's a pretty exciting experience!
Land ahoy! Cyrene Reef is located south of mainland Singapore, in the middle of a busy shipping lane. Although it is ringed by petrochemical plants on Jurong Island and Pulau Bukom, this beautiful reef is home to many interesting marine life!
The shore is populated with many Fan Clams. Watch out! Their razor-sharp edges that can give a pretty nasty cut.
And here's another one... Fan clams are easily overlooked as they are usually buried in the sand among seagrass with just 2 - 3cm of their shells sticking out.
Ornate Leaf Slugs seemed to be in season now... these beautiful slugs were spotted no less than 10 times today!
This Mosaic Dragonet came to "抢镜头" (steal the limelight) when I was trying to photograph the ornate leaf slug above...
This plastic-looking thing is a Sand Collar - the egg mass of a moon snail. The hole in the centre of the collar indicates the size of the snail!
Zoanthids. Do not touch them as some zoanthids contain powerful toxins to protect themselves against predators!
This rope-like creature is a Synaptid Sea Cucumber. A first sighting for me. Was kinda entertained by this fella as it kept "stretching" and "shrinking" itself... Reminds me of an accordion. =)
and here's another type of sea cucumber - the Garlic Bread Sea Cucumber.
This is a White Sea Urchin - another first for me. Saw quite a few of them today.
This beautiful urchin is the Long-spined Black Sea Urchin. This is definitely the prettiest specimen I've seen so far. I love it's white and purple hues. =)
Common Peacock Anemone. They can be found in a variety of colours.
Lots of Common Sea Stars were also spotted on the sandy shore...
And finally, my very first Knobbly Sea Star! This photogenic sea star can be found in a variety of colours and knob patterns.
Knobbly sea stars are often harvested for the live aquarium trade. As a result, they are now listed as 'Endangered' on the Red List of threatened animals of Singapore. Cyrene Reef is among the few places left in Singapore where they can be seen regularly.And now, for the stellar find of the day...
a Pentaceraster Sea Star! This special sea star is a new record for Singapore and was first spotted in Cyrene Reef. Pentaceraster sea stars were previously known to exist only in the western Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.My first visit to Cyrene Reef has been really eye-opening with many firsts. Even though it rained throughout the trip and made photography difficult, I'm really thankful for the good weather (read: no lightning) and the opportunity to visit this wonderful shore. Hope there'll be another chance for me to visit again! =)
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