110423 Terumbu Pempang Laut

My first visit to this reef.


Smoking smokestacks on Bukom. Hoping it's just condensed water vapor...


Terumbu Pempang Laut has stretches that were covered in green. Amid the Bryopsis were multitudes of Anthozoa.


Beautiful Galaxea.


Goniopora.


Circular Fungiidae.


Pocillopora.


Acropora.


Although this looks very much like a mushroom coral, it is not.This looks like Polyphyllia talpina (ID by Ron, thanks Ron!).


Its skeleton looks more like favid. Although only one part of the coral was disturbed, the polyps across the whole coral retreated.


Egg shaped Faviidae.


A field of branching Montipora. They are very brittle and Ria made a very interesting comment that it suggests their method of dispersion, by breaking off.


Closeup of branching Montipora polyps.


Mussidae.


Large patch of soft leathery coral (Alcyoniidae).


Strange looking soft coral-like thing but as observed by Ria regarding a similar looking one, this one also has a skeletal core more like gorgonians.


Nephtheidae.


Thick cover of corallimorphs with a small tubeworm poking out at the bottom right.


Zoanthid suburbia (left) and metropolis (right).


Zoanthids growing on blue coral (Heliopora).


Common looking patches of zoanthids can hide little gems.


Like this tiny (5 mm arm spread) crinoid, sadly unnoticed until photo processing.


Another crinoid here.


And a tiny anemone.


Smooth tentacled Phymanthus anemone.


More normal looking Phymanthus anemone. Still half-opened despite being stranded.


Intricately patterned Edwardsiidae anemone.


Tiny edwardsid (1.5 cm tentacle spread).


Stichodactyla gigantea.


Actinodendron, almost stranded.


How it looked fully stranded.


Another Actinodendron further out to sea. This one managed to escape getting stranded during the lowest tide.


Closeup of its tentacles.


Some Archaster typicus sea stars inhabit a small patch on the sand bar.


Hordes of stingrays (Taeniura lymma) populate the stretch to the south and some in the little inlet near the beacon at the north.


Speckled shrimp-goby (Cryptocentrus sp.)? About 8 cm long.


Not too sure why this fish, possibly a false scorpionfish (Serranidae, thanks Ria!), was in this position nor whats up with that brown patch behind its eye. It jumped back into deeper water when disturbed.


Burrowing giant clam (Tridacna crocea).


Cute hairy crab (Pilumnidae).


Sea hare (Aplysia extraordinaria) on some Bryopsis. Did not like the camera fill flash and hid itself under quite quickly.


Mei Lin pointed out this cluster of 4 Costasiella slugs on a fan seaweed.


Another slug on another fan seaweed looking directly into the camera.


Strange looking seaweed.