Breaking news! My first baby knobbly that barely has its knobs! haha... It's completely green and the knobs were approximately 1-2 mm in diameter.
One of the unique features of the knobblies would be its pinkish tube feet. Hence, I'm pretty sure that it's a knobbly! Its only 4cm across!
Besides the iconic knobbly, their other starry friends include the plain sea star, painted sea star (below the following photo) and biscuit stars. The seastars were littered around the shores... It is strange to note that most of the starfish were upside down when we found them. Maybe it's a cue that they are exposed on the flats.
On our recent trips, we noted the appearance of the pink sand dollars. Unlike their gray counterparts, the pink sand dollar is uncommon and the motifs on the pink sand dollars are more distinct and prettier in my opinion! :)
It is also the season of the hairy sea hare! Almost every year at this time, I will find one individual feeding off the algae in the giant clam tanks. I wonder if any of them have found their way into the clam rearing tank this year. :) They are such voracious algae feeders that my tanks are almost always clean! Many of them were stranded on the shores, and waiting for the tides to come back...
My students pointed out to me that they saw many white pens... Indeed, from afar, on the sandy bar, we can see many white pens sticking out of the sand. Finally, I found one that is still submerged in the water.
Other animals that were submerged in the water were the Tiger anemone (left) and the swimming anemone (right).
Just before the tides turn, I spotted this mantis shrimp! Unlike the unique banded mantis shrimp sighted months ago, this one here is a spearer mantis shrimp.
Also, pipefish were also found amongst the seagrass patches. :)
Students studying hard and figuring out what animal were they looking at. :)
I can't wait for the weekend trips! :)
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