Thank you very much Hoong Wei, for taking time out of his family holiday (oops!) to look at this pretty allied cowrie... This is his reply and some notes on this special animal:
"I believe the ovulid is Phenacovolva nectarea (Iredale, 1930). Some authors consider this to be synonymous with Phenacovolva rosea (Adams), but in my report (currently submitted for review), I followed Lorenz & Fehse (2009) and consider them to be different species. They are very variable in colours, and yours is peculiarly pale. However, you will notice that it has the usual yellow papillae and dark spotting, and the foot at the rear is colourfully stripped, just like the red shells."Double-checking with my other photos of its foot, indeed, the rear foot has red horizontal bands! :D And like Hoong Wei says, the taxonomic status of this snail will be published soon!
He has also kindly ID-ed this massive snail that has not been seen often in the local waters - Chicoreus ramosus.
Don't belittle this snail as it is a highly efficient predator that feeds on bottom dwelling bivalves and gastropods. Unfortunately, Hoong Wei also added that this snail often gets trapped in fishing nets.Finally, this feisty looking little fish is.... Orange and Black Dragonet Synchiropus kuiteri. Thank you Pei Min for the ID!
Debby has also blogged and described this little fishy on the Hantu Blog - check it out to see what is known about this fish in our local reefs. There seem to have been a taxonomic disparity as the name Dactylopus kuiteri is the old name, and I couldn't find much about it off the net besides the relationship it shares with the infamous colourful Mandarin Fishes.I can't wait to discover even more wonderful animals in Singapore! :)
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