Little Sister's Treasures

3 January 2010 - We're back on Little Sister's for another great adventure! I'm really excited to be back on the island again as my last visit in August had been exceptional. And like the previous trip, we spotted many interesting creatures today...

It is always wonderful to find a Fluted Giant Clam (Tridacna squamosa) on our shores. Giant clams are rather rare in Singapore's waters. In addition, they are usually well-camouflaged and can be quite difficult to spot.

Tropical Silverside (Atherinomorus duodecimalis). This fish is commonly seen zipping about in a group near the surface of the water.

Quite a number of Frilly Anemones (Phymanthus sp.) were spotted too...

A bunch of seaweed? Nope, look again. Can you spot some "spines" under those seaweed?

and these spines belong to... the Spider Conch (Lambis lambis)! This beautiful snail was trying to flip itself over using its long muscular foot.

Also spotted were many Feather Stars (Order Comatulida) of different colours and patterns. Like this plain red one...

Or this one in green and brown...

and another green and brown one with splashes of orange...

Sharp-eyed James spotted this worm-like animal on one of the arms of the green-brown-orange feather star. Intrigued, we started looking for "worms" on other feather stars too - and we did find more! Interestingly, all the "worms" spotted seem to share similar colours and pattern as their hosts.

These anemone-looking creatures are actually Cave Corals (Tubastrea sp.) with their tentacles extended. This small hard coral grows in dark places and usually only extends its tentacles at night to feed on plankton.

This is a Barrel Sponge (Xestospongia testudinaria).

hmm... is this another type of sponge?

This is our sole nudibranch find today... a Bohol Nudibranch (Discodoris Boholiensis).

but there were plenty of flatworms. This is a Blue-lined Flatworm (Pseudoceros sp.).

Orange-white Black Flatworm. This flatworm with an orange outermost edge looks very similar to the more commonly found White-orange Black Flatworm (Pseudobiceros uniarborensis). Probably another species of the Pseudobiceros genus?

This is a Damawan Flatworm (Pseudobiceros damawan). A new sighting for me. =)

and this, is a Spotted Black Flatworm (Acanthozoon sp.) Isn't it pretty?

and here's yet another new sighting for me - a Clear Sundial Snail (Architectonica perspectiva)!

here's what the underside look like... with a series of spirals.

and here's another special find of the day - a Spotted-tail Frogfish (Lophiocharon trisignatus)! Only my second time seeing this weird-looking fish, the first being at Pulau Hantu in May 2009.

as we headed back towards land at the end of the trip, we spotted this Peachia Anemone (Peachia sp.) in the shallow waters.

and here's another one, out of water, spotted near the high shore.

The shore today was covered with lots of Sargassum Seaweed (Sargassum sp.). To be honest, it was a little nerve-wrecking making our way through the seaweed after sundown, especially after the stonefish incident just two days ago. We were all the more careful and tried as much as possible to step only on bare patches of sand. It would be foolhardy to bulldoze our way through the sargassum as dangerous creatures could be hiding underneath.

Nonetheless, my second trip to the Little Sister's has been most fruitful and I look forward to visiting the island again.

New Year, New Shore

1 January 2010 - Happy New Year everyone! Our first destination for 2010 is Beting Bemban Besar, a patch reef off Pulau Semakau that is only exposed during low tide. This is my first visit to the shore and I can't wait to check out what marine life abounds!

And here we go, setting off in high spirits in the trusty little rubber dinghy.

Making our way towards drier ground...

for our group photo and a toast to a wonderful 2010!

Just as we completed this, the rain clouds closed in on us and it began raining cats and dogs. Bearing the hope that the rain might stop soon, we put on our rain gear and continued with our exploration.

But alas, the strong wind and rain just went on and on, and most of us had to keep our cameras. It's a good thing that some of us had underwater cameras and were able to capture some of the creatures we came across.

Here are some of the creatures I saw:
(all photos courtesy of Kok Sheng)

Knobbly Sea Star (Protoreaster nodosus). The only one I came across today...

Bohol Nudibranch (Discodoris boholiensis). A first sighting for me... This poor fella seemed to have a bit of its body chewed off...

and a really cute juvenile Polka-dot Nudibranch (Jorunna funebris) which Kok Sheng found under a rock.

Ok, these are the few "mobile" creatures I saw on this trip. There were many types of hard and soft corals on the shore too. Do check out Kok Sheng's and Ria's blog to read about their interesting finds.

Seeing was difficult in the relentless rain and strong wind. The raindrops and wind made ripples on the water and half the time, we couldn't see clearly what we were stepping on. It didn't help that many parts of the shore are covered with seaweed too - there's no telling what dangerous creature lurks beneath them.

Unfortunately, despite everyone exercising all caution, Ivan had the misfortune to step on a stonefish and had to be evacuated to the hospital. The pain got worse as we made our way back to mainland Singapore and his foot swelled up considerably. He described the pain as sharp and stabbing, and it spread from his foot to his ankle, calf, and knee as the venom worked its way round his system.

The first aid treatment for stonefish stings is to soak the affected limb in hot water. This is because heat denatures the proteins that make up the toxins in the venom and helps to alleviate the pain. However, medical aid must be sought as soon as possible as stonefish venom can be fatal to humans.

Oh boy, what a dramatic start to the new year, and also a reminder just how dangerous our shores can be. Am glad that Ivan is now better and hope he recovers soon to join us on more adventures. Get well soon, Ivan!