I remember a joke told by LHS:
A group of people go to a restaurant.
One of them asks the waitress, “Do you serve crab?”
The waitress pauses for a while, then reply with a big smile, “We serve EVERYONE!”
MySabah.com also serves crab, and many. You might think that I am crazy about the crabs. Not really lah. It is just that I find that fiddler crabs are very photogenic and few photographers feature them. Aren’t you tired of those macro / close-up shoot of dragonfly lah, ant lah, beetle lah, etc.? I want to have something special here.
This will be my last set of fiddler crab photo gallery and it is meant to replace the older version of my previous crab photos. I dare to say my site is one of the few sites where you can find the most beautiful shot of fiddler crabs.
I don’t know the name of each species. I had sent some of the photos to a Singapore universary.
Once they help to identify them, I will update the blog. If I report a new species, you will find a fiddler crab that named “Smoke Head Crab”. Haha… if that happens, I wish the crabs won’t go knock themselves to the wall to kill themselves (then become extinct).
This bug got hundred of legs, but it is not a millipede and centipede. It is a good swimmer and live in swampy area. I saw it in KK Wetland Centre (formerly KK City Bird Sanctuary) and mentioned it in my blog before.
To know it better, I invite him out for an interview.
I stood in front of its burrow and shouted, “Good Morning, Mr Leggy!”
I believed he heard me but no response.
I shouted louder again, “Mr. Leggy. We have an appointment today. Shall we meet up?”
Again, no reply.
I was getting impatient, so I said, “If you don’t show up, I will not post your photos on MySabah.com!!!”
Then a faint voice came from the burrow, “Wait… I heard you the first time. I am still busy putting on my shoes!”
OK, here you go. The pictures of Mr. Leggy below. I think it got more legs than any centipede. Usually this bug is nearly black, with a bit of glossy blue or green color, and only a few inches long. But this one is 1 foot (30 cm) long and with metallic magenta color, I consider this one is quite rare (new species?). It is such a beauty.
When I saw it swimming, I thought it was a water snake. Some locals call it “Sea Earthworm” and use it as a bait for fishing. The photos below show that it got eyes and 4 “horns”.
Its appearance looks scary, but it doesn’t bite. Its body is so soft that it would break apart if you hold it with hand. I took a few pictures of it then let it went.
I also took a 25-second video clip when it swam in a container. In you are curious, CLICK HERE to Play the Video. I would like to find out its official and scientific name, but nobody is able to tell me. What it eat? Where it stay? How it live? I would like to know more. Please tell me if you know anything about it..
Updated (Dec 7, 06)
I found another kind of this bug, which I believe is another species. It is very similar with the one above in terms of body structure and size. The main difference is the head. This one has longer antenna and it is in black color, with a bit of dark blue. In fact, this species is more commonly seen in mangrove forest.
Last Tuesday morning I decided to explore deeper inside the mangrove forest. While resting, I saw a big worm crawled on the muddy surface. “Such a big earthworm!” I looked closer. No… It is that leggy bug again. Before that, I thought it was only active in the water since it is such a good swimmer.
You may CLICK HERE to Play the 20-sec Video that shows how it crawls. It tried to explore a burrow but was attacked by a crab inside. Warning! Viewer Discretion Advised.
Updated (Dec 12, 06)
Thanks to Dr Chris Glasby from Darwin, Australia. Below is the description of the identities of these 2 bugs:
Both ‘bugs’ are polychaete worms belonging to the family Nereididae.
Bug 1 is almost certainly Namalycastis abiuma, which is a species that prefers moist coastal areas like mangrove forests, coastal lagoons etc., and has a widespread distribution in the tropics and subtropics. It is unusual to see them in the open, as they prefer to hide amongst the rotting mangrove timbers, under rocks and other debris on, or near, the shore. Probably that is why they appear less common.
Bug 2 is more difficult to identify from your photos. Judging by its general features I would say it is Paraleonnates bolus, a species also quite commonly found in mangroves. These worms also occur in the mangroves forests of Darwin – and they can often be seen scavenging on the surface of the mangrove mud.
…it is also worth a note in a popular science journal, especially considering your nice pictures, and because ‘land’ polychaetes are quite rare and unusual.
This is a follow-up post of my last blog about a mysterious animal I discovered in Tanjung Lipat Beach. It is wrong to think that we need to travel a thousand miles overseas to see something cool. Sometimes we can find something special that is so near to our home.
My blog about this animal has created a great fear among the locals. Many readers express their concern whether this animal is a man-eater and whether it is safe for their children to swim at Tanjung Lipat, etc. Ok, Ok, let’s cut the crap. There are TWO different animals live in this burrow. One is a BLIND shrimp, another one is Goby fish. They share the same burrow and play a supporting role to each other. The Goby fish is a “watch dog”. The blind shrimp always uses the antenna to sense the movement of this fish to detect danger. If the fish retreats to the hole, the shrimp will follow. In return, the Goby fish can live in the safe burrow without paying any rent.
Picture 1. The Goby fish comes up and watch around first.
Picture 2. If the fish stays outside long enough, the shrimp will come out.
I know this because Discovery Channel lists both of them as one of the Most Extreme partners. But I didn’t expect I would see them in Tanjung Lipat. At first I noticed the antenna in the hole, so I sat next to the hole and waited for it to come up. Then I was surprised to see a fish (no antenna) came up first. I found more than 5 burrows like this in Tanjung Lipat.
Picture 3. The blind shrimp always keeps an antenna on the fish body.
Picture 4. The Goby fish is very cooperative and give way to the shrimp to work.
Please click the photos below to zoom-in for larger photos. You won’t find many super-clear photos of them in other web sites. This kind of cross-species partnership is a miracle in the nature.
Picture 5. The shrimp is busy digging burrow.
Picture 6. If you look at the larger picture, you can find second shrimp in the burrow!
I might be the first in Sabah (even Malaysia) posts their photos. So a touching moment. They really can’t live without each other.
Picture 7. “I Love You” The shrimp gives the Goby fish a hug?
Picture 8. “We are the best partner!”
Lastly, it is my pleasure to present you the love story of them via a 1-minute video clip. Please Click the picture below to start the show:
My uncle taught me to use salty fish head to catch a strange creature in the beach. Goodness, the smell was so strong that I couldn’t stand it. Very soon it attracted all sort of “seafood” coming for it. Unfortunately, I didn’t see the THING that I waited for. But the pictures are interesting to look at…
The smelly salty fish head in the sea water:
The fish was the first to come:
Then sea crabs…
The smell also lured a mud crab 20 feet away, plus some shrimps. It was so greedy and wanted to take away the whole piece.
Well, I will show you the photo once I manage to catch it next time…
The long-nosed Proboscis Monkey (nickname: Dutch Man) is one of the superstars of Sabah wildlife. This funny-looking creature only can be found in the mangrove and lowland forest of Borneo. The two most famous sites to spot them are at Klias and Sukau.
Since I live in west coast, Klias, located 110 KM south of Kota Kinabalu city, is more accessible for me. To get there by car, it will take about 2 hours and the road condition is good. I overnight in Borneo Proboscis River Lodge, located next to the Klias River and 17 KM before Kuala Penyu town.
All the houses in Borneo Proboscis River Lodge is made of wood and bamboo, like a native village. Basic facilities such as toilet, bathroom, cafeteria, water supply and electricity are available. I stayed there twice and each time got power blackout which lasted from 0.5 to 3 hours, so you better bring a torch light. Insect repellant is a must, as hundreds of hungry mosquitoes will attack you 24×7. One night when I was laying on the bed, a 6-inch centipede crawled on my arm, quite freak out.
If you take their day trip package, you can join their sunset river cruise (about 5 PM) and watch fire flies at night (about 7:30 PM). It was a bad luck to have noisy kids on the same boat. Proboscis Monkey is very sensitive and shy. If the overexcited children see them, they will SHOUT, “WAAAAAH!!!! MOM! LOOK!!! MONKEY!!! MONKEY THERE!!!!!!” By the time I take out my camera, all the monkeys ran away already. I love kids. But when came to that moment I always felt the urge to kick them all into the river.
That is a 100% chance that you will see more than one Proboscis Monkey on the trees along the river, during sunset river cruise. But in most cases, they would be 100 feet away from you or hiding behind the leaves. The human and engine noise will scare them, so they will leave shortly. A binocular is highly recommended, so you can see their long noses clearer. Usually they move in group, with one male leader sit on the tallest spot, while his wives and children busy nearby. If you want to use a 3x optical zoom camera to take their photos, you will be greatly disappointed, coz they are too far away. The best time to spot them is around 6 PM (their bedtime) and 7AM. Long-tailed Macaque Monkey is more common, and they are not quite afraid of us.
Besides Proboscis Monkey, depending on your luck, you would see monitor lizard, kingfisher, eagle, snake, hornbill, etc. You would see crocodile by slim chance. If you look at the trees grow next the river, many of them got high prop breathing root so they can survive the flood. Unlike normal river, Klias River is a peat swamp river. There are tons of death leaves and organic substances under the river, so the water is dark coffee color and a bit smelly. Some even describe Peat Swamp as a carbon sink. And it flows slowly. I saw some catfish in the river. You can have fun fishing at the jetty if you want to.
The most unforgettable experience is to watch the “fire flies Christmas Tree” at night. FYI, the best time to see this is after the rain, and the night without moonlight. They will show you one or two trees where hundreds of fire flies gather, light up the tree like Christmas Tree. Coz it was too dark, my camera couldn’t take the picture. Anyway, I create the picture at the left for you to get an idea how it looks like.
One day I was wandering at Sawangan Beach and found two village women busy looking for something. I followed them and saw what they did. They used a long stick to poke the hole in the sand. I asked them what they caught. They showed me the THING and said the catch that time was not good due to the hot day, that THING didn’t want to eat.
They used a stick, with sago as a bait at the end. When they saw a “suspicious” hole, they would insert the stick into the hole. Then slowly they pulled the stick out. If the THING attracted by the bait, it would follow the bait and got out of the hole. The woman was also holding another iron Y-stick waited outside the hole. When half of its body came out, the woman would use the Y-stick to press the THING to the sand, so it could not escape and retreat to the hole. Then she used her hand to pull the THING out of the hole.
Before you click the picture below for answer, make a guess first.
So… did you get it right? You should check out the video clip below to see how they catch the THING:
I never expected I would see any sea snake at Sawangan Beach in Kuala Penyu. It all started with curiosity (but about something else). I noticed there were two big rocks, namely, Deer Rock (Batu Payau) and Dog Rock (Batu Kuyuk), about 1 KM away from the shore. During low tide in the afternoon, I could even walk to them.
I thought it would be a good idea to come closer to these rocks, so I could take better photos of their unique shapes. My initial plan was to climb the Deer Rock, coz I saw many sea birds resting on it. I believed there was a high probability that they also built their nest there. Who knew if I was lucky, I could find their baby birds for a photo shooting session.
The sea birds started to make noise when they saw me walking to their Deer Rock. That confirmed my guess was right. See me approaching closer, a group of sea birds took off and flying circled around me, dived down toward my head, like fighter jet, it was quite scary. I even got a 37-sec video clip of those angry birds.
With hesitation, I stopped at Dog Rock first. Suddenly I saw a 5-feet sea snake was about 15 feet in front of me. It also saw me and tried to hide under the rock. Luckily I managed to get a few good shot of it. After a while, it came out from a rock just 5 feet away from me and crawling to my direction, probably it was trying to find the way out. Sea snake is one of the most poisonous snakes in the world and one drop of its venom can kill 3 men, and I was alone, so it is not wise to mess with it. I left the site quickly. Later I learn that it is a Yellow-Lipped Sea Snake.
Guess what? The next day I went back to Dog Rock again. This time I was more cautious and walked carefully. It was quite dangerous coz there were so many rocks, which are the good hiding place for the snakes. Very soon, I found a sea snake under a rock. It didn’t escape. When I walked closer, I found that it was sleeping (note the white eyelid). After observing a few minutes, I was sure that it was sleeping deeply, so I pointed my camera, about 3 feet in front of it, to take its picture.
Then I climbed on top of Dog Rock and looked around. After half an hour of careful search, I found something that really frightening (but exciting). A pile of 3 to 5 sea snakes slept together between the rocks! After confirmed that they were taking an afternoon nap, I moved slowly to a rock near to them. When I took their pictures, my camera was only a few feet away from them. Fortunately I didn’t wake them up. You think I am brave? No… Actually I was really scared but I was more strongly attracted by these beauties. The feeling and experience were totally different from watching it on the TV.
The high tide was coming. I spent too much time on the sea snakes, so I didn’t have time to explore Deer Rock. May be next time then. It is no surprise to find sea snakes there coz Pulau Tiga (Survivor Island) and Snake Island are not far away from Kuala Penyu. You can see more photos of the sea snakes here.
Photos taken in Sawangan Beach, Kuala Penyu, Sabah, Malaysia Borneo
