Hurray! The
Fluted giant clams (
Tridacna squamosa) that Kwan Siong first spotted at Pulau Hantu is still there.
We were also treated to a gorgeous sunset, as well as sightings of interesting marine life.
We had started to see many of these Fluted giant clams on our last trip to Pulau Hantu in
May 2013. I couldn't find the others because the tide wasn't very low today. There are other big molluscs on Pulau Hantu too. Like the enormous
Giant top shell snail (
Trochus niloticus). And the endearing
Spider conch (
Lambis lambis).
A closer look at some of the patches of rich reefy life: soft and hard corals and sponges in bewildering colours. It was hard to explore the reefs thoroughly because the
Sargassum seaweed (
Sargassum sp.) has started to bloom. It's not good to step onto heavy growths of this seaweed as we may damage corals or get hurt by stepping on dangerous animals.
This cluster of
Anemone coral (
Goniopora sp.) looked a little too yellow to be healthy.
One large
Lettuce coral (
Pavona sp.) seemed to be partially bleaching, as well as
one
brain corals (Family Mussidae) and one
Pore coral (
Porites sp.). But most of the corals I saw were
alright.
I
saw one
Anchor coral (Family Euphyllidae) and two
Cauliflower corals (
Pocillopora sp.) were were not
bleaching. These two kinds of corals were among the first to bleach
during the
2010 global mass coral bleaching event. I didn't see any
Crinkled sandpaper coral (
Psammocora sp.).
There were many
Branching montipora corals (
Montipora sp.) and
Favid corals (Family Faviidae) and they were mostly alright.
Some of the
Asparagus flowery soft corals (Family Nephtheidae) were pale or yellowish, but most were their healthy purple colour. I didn't see any
leathery soft corals (Family Alcyoniidae) that were bleaching. Various species all looked fine.
The only
Magnificent anemone (
Heteractis magnifica) I saw looked a little banged up. It had a pair of anemone shrimps.
There were more
Giant carpet anemones (
Stichodactyla gigantea) and some of them had large 'Nemo's or
False clown anemonefishes (
Amphiprion ocellaris). This is good because for a while, we didn't see these fishes in the anemones and I was afraid the fishes were being poached.
There were several clumps of these tiny fluffy critters which I think are
some kind of hydroid.
I came across this sponge that was covered with tiny creatures that
appear to have a pair of tentacles with a kind of 'skin' around their
middle.
Are those tiny critters the younger version of these little
Spionid worms (Family Spionidae) that commonly coat all kinds of sponges.
The huge
Perepat trees (
Sonneratia alba) on the shore were blooming! After sunset, the white flowers blossomed into fluffy pom poms. I thought I saw some bats flying past, but I didn't see any stopping to feed on the flowers.
There was this interesting moth on the Perepat tree. Alas, I have no idea what it is.
I had a quick look at the amazing
mangrove trees that have regenerated naturally on the artificial seawalls of Pulau Hantu. The tree look healthy.
The
Tape seagrass (
Enhalus acoroides) were mostly nice and long, although I did come
across several patches with cropped blades. There was not much
Spoon seagrasses (
Halophila ovalis).
I noticed these odd patches on Tape seagrasses where the brownish
scum growing on the seagrass blade had been regularly scraped away. I
couldn't find the animal that did this.
I
also came across the super well camouflaged
Seagrass seahare (
Phyllapsia sp.) that is
often seen on Tape seagrasses. They appear to 'clean' large areas of a
seagrass blade.
Our last trip here was in
May 2013 in the morning. The low spring tides are now in the evenings. And we had a great sunset, over the living shores of Pulau Hantu that lies just across the petrochemical plants on Pulau Bukom. Today we didn't see any fish traps or nets on the shore.
It is also possible to dive at Pulau Hantu! Join the volunteers of the
Hantu Bloggers who conduct guided dives this reef every month!
