In deeper waters, the rocks and hard surfaces bristle with all kinds of encrusting marinelife.Kok Sheng, who brought us to this stretch of shore, points out a wall of sponges on a large boulder! We are visiting on a very low tide. Usually, this portion of the rock is covered in water, which is why it is so rich in life.
The fluted surfaces of humungous rocks are also edged in colourful marine life
Here are wonderful pink sponges (Haliclona cf baeri)!
Candy coloured hydroids festoon the rocks.
As well as these strange feathery animals, probably also hydroids.
These large blue blobs are probably contracted ball-tip sea anemones that we have been seeing on our northern shores.
There are large patches of orange blobs which are probably colonial ascidians. And lots of little blue spotted flatworms (cf Pseudoceros indicus) everywhere.
Kok Sheng spots these odd blue blobs! I have no idea what they are. Ascidians?
And among them, large Onyx cowries (Cypraea onyx).
I also came across another bunch of strange blobs.
They have little orange spots. I have no idea what they are.
With all these yummy nudi food, I expected to find some nudibranchs. But alas, we failed to find any. Although there were nudi egg ribbons here and there. Perhaps later on there might be nudis?
Also on the shores were hard corals that we often see on our northern shores. Small patches of Zebra coral (Oulastrea crispata) and tiny corallites of possibly Cave corals (Tubastrea sp.)?
And in really deeper waters we saw the tippy tips of seafans!
As well as pink flowery soft corals (Family Neptheidea).
And lurking in the murky waters, stinging hydroids!
Nestled among the sponges were large Haddon's carpet anemones (Stichodactyla haddoni).
And stuck to hard places were large orange sea cucumbers.
The team found a large blue feather star!
And we also came across a brown flatworm (Pseudobiceros gratus)!
This stretch of Ubin shores remind me a bit of Beting Bronok and Pulau Sekudu. We don't even see this kind of variety any more on Chek Jawa these days! Wow!
