Starting from zeroo: Chek Jawa on 19 Dec

Went to Chek Jawa in the evening that day. It was my first time at Chek Jawa. Probably a bit disappointed because there weren't a lot of stuff to see and we couldn't walk out to the reef area because the tide was a bit high and the water murked up very easily. This may be due to the storm surge as it rained for quite long in the morning and afternoon. However, i still managed to get shots of some animals! (: Was trying to learn how to use my camera properly so some pics may be quite blur. Hehe.

This is the Sand-sifting Sea Star, Archaster typicus. It is named so because it sifts the sand for tiny food particles. It has tube feets which helps it to move around and can also burrow into the sand.

This is the Pink Thorny Sea Cucumber, Colochirus quadrangularis. They usually do not burrow and are more commonly found at the seagrass area.

We saw a few Haddon's Carpet Anemone, Stichodactyla haddoni, and this is one of them. Like other anemone, the Carpet Anemone also has stinging cells in its tentacles. Although the stings do not usually hurt humans, we should not use our bare hands to touch them as they are still capable of leaving welts on sensitive skin.

We saw this Orange-striped Hermit Crab, Clibanarius infraspinatus, at the seagrass area too! Unlike true crabs, hermit crabs have a soft abdomen, thus they need to live in a shell for protection. Hence we should not collect any shells from the seaside even if it is broken as any shell may be a suitable shell for the hermit crab. If there are not enough shells for the hermit crabs, they will have to run naked along the shores!

This is the first Sandfish Sea Cucumber, Holothuria scabra, that i saw that day. This is the species of Sea Cucumber that we usually eat during Chinese New Year. However, this sea cucumber contains toxin in it thus it must be properly processed before it can be served on the table.

This is the Sand Dollar, Arachnoides placenta. Although it is very flat, it is a relative of the Sea Urchins. It has short and tiny spines on its body to help it move around on the sand. Sometimes it may burrow into the sand too!

Lifer! This is the first Sand Star, Astropecten sp., that I've ever seen. Haha.

There were also many Tube Anemone that day. It got its name because they live in a tube that is made of sand and its mucus.

Ruixiang found this cute little thingie. Looks like an embryo with a small fish inside? Haha. Don't know what this is, but we can see a pair of eyes looking at us from inside! Super cute :D

Noble volute! Cymbiola nobilis. This one here is laying its eggs. Although it may seem to be gentle and harmless, it is actually a very fierce predator. It feeds on other smaller snails and clams by wrapping its strong foot around them to suffocate them. When they open up to breathe, it will feed on them.

Err i dont know what this is. Forgot already ): LOL. But it is super flat at the underside of a rock.

Fanworm! But the picture is blur x_x Haha. The feathery fan is actually the tentacles of the worm that is growing out from the head. The tentacles help the worm to gather panktons and tiny food particles from the surrounding water. However, we do not usually see the worm as it lives in a tube that is made of sand and its mucus.