Friday, September 30, 2005
Saint John's ROCKS!: Nudibranch dive
And so the day started as it never ended. Suffering from serious lack of sleep, we were off to Saint John's for some diving. DIVING. Though I very rarely say no to a dive, today was one of those days where I just wish I could spend the rest of the morning and afternoon in bed. Stay home. And skip all these...just like Tse-Lynn...
Periclimenes psamathe. Identified by the red spot on the hump in the abdomen.
A whole seafan of them!
Glossodoris atromarginata, (Chromodorididae).
Tiny tiny phyllid! As small as the fingernail on my pinky. (Phyllidiella pustulosa)
I have no idea what nudibranch this is. My guess is it's some Phestilla sp. But what species?! Anyone anyone? Help help?
Found under an overturned Porites colony, these nudibranchs were laying their eggs. Species of Phestilla are generally associated with hard corals, found under colonies.
HUGGEEEE POLYCLAD FLATWORM! AS BIG AS MY PALM! TWO OF THEM! MATING! (Pseudobiceros sp.)
A cute couple of Phyllidiella pustulosa.
Pseudobiceros hancockanus.
AND MY FAVOURITE!!!! Flabellina sp. Species anyone? Rhinophores seem smooth, not papillate. Hmm...
And and and...IT WAS TOGETHER WITH ANOTHER NUDIBRANCH! Which...I am ashamed to admit, I didn't notice at first. It was so well blended! TWO TWO TWO!! SO NICE!!
The other nudibranch that was there. SO NICE! I have never seen this one before! I think it's a Bornella. Species anyone?
Thuridilla bayeri. This sea slug belong to the group Actenoidea. It is not a nudibranch, but a close relative. They normally feed on algae...
Pseudoceros sp. Polyclad flatworm found in an REU (reef enhancement unit). SO CUTE! It was trying to get from one point to another by stretching itself!
OK OK, it WASN'T JUST a nudibranch dive. We DID see some fishes. Well, those that managed to be made seen by me anyway. This filefish was nicely camouflaged, merging nicely with its background.
ALERT! Warning colours on! Flaring up to make it look bigger.
And among the delicate branches of my favourite Pocillopora damicornis coral, was a little feeding crab... Ain't it cute?
A funky ascidian (sea squirt)!
A Pocillopora coral growing in a Porites colony. It probably settled on a dead part of the Porites coral and fought its way to its current size. Amazing stuff! Like enlarging a wound...Coral competition in action!
AND THE Montipora TRANSPLANT ON AN REU AT SAINT JOHN'S IS DOING SO WELL!!! IT'S SO BIG NOW! EXCELLENT!!!
Haha! I wouldn't miss this for anything else!!! I think the photos speak for themselves. We DID manage to finish the work we set out to do though, if that is what you are thinking about. But I guess we DETOURED quite a lot... haha... But with such pretty little things around, who wouldn't?
Thanks to my dive buddies Daniel and Marco for being excellent spotters! Well, maybe not Marco... he disappeared and lost him so many times only to find him again staying still looking at FISH. ARGH! Well... I DID ask him to try and compile a fish list... It's only right...
CHEERS ALL!
Oh... if you want to see more photos from these excellent dives, please please...HERE HERE. All smiles, all day after those dives! Made my day and more! ¶ 7:57 pm
Periclimenes psamathe. Identified by the red spot on the hump in the abdomen.
A whole seafan of them!
Glossodoris atromarginata, (Chromodorididae).
Tiny tiny phyllid! As small as the fingernail on my pinky. (Phyllidiella pustulosa)
I have no idea what nudibranch this is. My guess is it's some Phestilla sp. But what species?! Anyone anyone? Help help?
Found under an overturned Porites colony, these nudibranchs were laying their eggs. Species of Phestilla are generally associated with hard corals, found under colonies.
HUGGEEEE POLYCLAD FLATWORM! AS BIG AS MY PALM! TWO OF THEM! MATING! (Pseudobiceros sp.)
A cute couple of Phyllidiella pustulosa.
Pseudobiceros hancockanus.
AND MY FAVOURITE!!!! Flabellina sp. Species anyone? Rhinophores seem smooth, not papillate. Hmm...
And and and...IT WAS TOGETHER WITH ANOTHER NUDIBRANCH! Which...I am ashamed to admit, I didn't notice at first. It was so well blended! TWO TWO TWO!! SO NICE!!
The other nudibranch that was there. SO NICE! I have never seen this one before! I think it's a Bornella. Species anyone?
Thuridilla bayeri. This sea slug belong to the group Actenoidea. It is not a nudibranch, but a close relative. They normally feed on algae...
Pseudoceros sp. Polyclad flatworm found in an REU (reef enhancement unit). SO CUTE! It was trying to get from one point to another by stretching itself!
OK OK, it WASN'T JUST a nudibranch dive. We DID see some fishes. Well, those that managed to be made seen by me anyway. This filefish was nicely camouflaged, merging nicely with its background.
ALERT! Warning colours on! Flaring up to make it look bigger.
And among the delicate branches of my favourite Pocillopora damicornis coral, was a little feeding crab... Ain't it cute?
A funky ascidian (sea squirt)!
A Pocillopora coral growing in a Porites colony. It probably settled on a dead part of the Porites coral and fought its way to its current size. Amazing stuff! Like enlarging a wound...Coral competition in action!
AND THE Montipora TRANSPLANT ON AN REU AT SAINT JOHN'S IS DOING SO WELL!!! IT'S SO BIG NOW! EXCELLENT!!!
Haha! I wouldn't miss this for anything else!!! I think the photos speak for themselves. We DID manage to finish the work we set out to do though, if that is what you are thinking about. But I guess we DETOURED quite a lot... haha... But with such pretty little things around, who wouldn't?
Thanks to my dive buddies Daniel and Marco for being excellent spotters! Well, maybe not Marco... he disappeared and lost him so many times only to find him again staying still looking at FISH. ARGH! Well... I DID ask him to try and compile a fish list... It's only right...
CHEERS ALL!
Oh... if you want to see more photos from these excellent dives, please please...HERE HERE. All smiles, all day after those dives! Made my day and more! ¶ 7:57 pm
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Woooooowwwww.... all the nudibranchs and flatworms sooo nice!!!!! esp the funky one underneath the Porites that one looks really bizarre... and laying eggs some more. Hope we get to see more of them. The one beside the Flabellina also looks so interesting!
wow i didn't know singapore waters has such gems!..always thought our sea waters are very polluted, orh lu lu until cannot even see our own hands in the waters.
This is simply beautiful!!!
Hope that will flourish quickly.
we are already a garden city, how i wish we have a nice coral garden surrounding our island as well.
that's going to be a potentially big hit for tourism, far much better then having that so called "integrated resort"
Hope that will flourish quickly.
we are already a garden city, how i wish we have a nice coral garden surrounding our island as well.
that's going to be a potentially big hit for tourism, far much better then having that so called "integrated resort"
Yeaps... saw them all in one dive! =) I think it just takes a keen eye, patience and some luck (coupled with an OK vis) to see all these! Singapore is in a region of rich biodiversity so it's not that surprising that we have all these actually. It's just a matter of what we can and should do to keep it this way, and improve the conditions of our waters.
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