26 June Semakau walk

Time to update this backlog 4 days ago. Glad to finally guide after the past three days of exploratory intertidal trips. I find that guiding is x10 better than just walking around taking pictures.

The sun rose up like a huge egg yolk while we were on the boat and many participants went to take a picture of it.

Definitely one of my favourite groups, the spider conch, after guiding for so long.

Our longest cucumber in the sea, Synaptid Sea cucumber (Synaptidae) is normally found in the seagrasses filtering suspended nutrients in the water.

We also saw a Flower Crab, Portunus pelagicus but unfortunately, it was in caught in a trap.

This Anemone Shrimp (Periclimenes brevicarpalis) is commonly found on our Carpet Anemone. Due to its attractive appearance, they are rather popular in the aquarium trade. You can find out more information about this shrimp from my earlier post.

This unidentified brown flatworm is normally found slithering on rocks. Flatworms are all hermaphrodites, having both sexual organs. The term came from the son of the Greek god Hermes and goddess, Aphrodite, called Hermaphroditus. So why did this guy have both sexual organs? Apparently, he was raped by a nymph called Salmacis (thats how the Salmacis urchin genus came about) and they merged to form a single form with both organs.

The adorable Hairy Crab, Pilumnus vespertili is probably the most common crab in the intertidal region.

The Breasted Moon Snail, Polinices mammatus have a tough trapdoor covering over their only opening to prevent predation.

The hunter seekers have been finding these same few Knobbly Sea Stars, Protoreaster nodosus. One of our largest stars here, they can grow up to about 30cm wide.

The Ocellated Sea Cucumber, Stichopus ocellatus have eye spots that seem to me like a pimple with white pus. This is also an edible species.

Hard corals build an exoskeleton made of calcium carbonate. When out of water, the polyps and tentacles all retract back to their skeletal homes to prevent dessication. This coral is an Anemone Coral, Goniopora sp.

Finally, a tide low enough to see the Giant Clam, Tridacna squamosa. These big shellfishes have zooxanthellae living in their body and play a big part in making their huge shells.

It is quite a while since I last saw the Sandfish Sea Cucumber, Holothuria scabra in Semakau, even though they are relatively common here.

Meiyi managed to find a Noble Volute, Cymbiola nobilis at the reef edge.

Sponges come in many different shapes, sizes and colours. They belong to the Phylum Porifera, meaning "pores", and sea water contain nutrients flow through these holes to be filtered off by sticky threads in the body. This species is probably Haliclona baeri.

As we were walking back from the shore, we were awarded with some aerobatic displays by fighter jets, probably practising for the upcoming national day.