Yesterday we were back again at Pulau Semakau and I had the chance to guide a group consisting mainly of NUS life science students. It really make me reminisce my school days.
The tide was still high when we crossed the seagrass meadow. But nevertheless the group was still jovial and enthusiastic.
Disgused by bits of debri and dead leaves, this is the home of a tubeworm (Class Polychaete).
The ocellated sea cucumber (Stichopus ocellatus) is described to melt and disintegerate if agitated and brought out of the water for too long.
The dorsal surface of the gong gong (Laevistrombus canarium) is often camouflaged by a layer of mud to avoid predation. We were really lucky to spot three live ones!
It would be extremely tough to spot the elbow crab (Parthenope longimanus), named due to their long pair of pincers bending just like an elbow if it did not move about while I was glancing in its direction.
One of my participants found the processed sand of the acorn worm (Class
The common seastar (Archaster typicus) were all over the sandy intertidals. These stars feed on the detritus using their greenish stomach which they pushed out of their bodies.
We were rewarded with a magnificent sunset halfway towards the reef crest.
Can you spot well disgused octopus in this picture?
This is one organism that I have never seen before. It is not an eel, and seems too agile to be a worm... Hmm...