Wet wet wet... Had just merely 2-3hours of sleep and we're out of MS's place and on our way to meet the eager participants who are already there at 4AM.
Cold and rainy was how the day started, but the rain managed to hold long enough for us to walk about freely... My group was small and out of 6, 4 of them are either divers, bio students or guides-to-be, so the walk was rather simple. Though, I notice that they seem to be rather quiet... Hmmm...
Sargassum seaweed were in abundance, covering all the corals and other invertabrates. To make things worse, the rain have chased away most of the animals... Where have all the crabs, sand dollars, moonsnails and nudibraches gone to?!?!??! ...
But alas, we managed to find some beautiful whelk snails (Nassariidae) I still don't know how to pronounce "whelk" properly, narites (Narita Lineata), lots of clown anemone shrimps or also known as glass anemone shrimps (Periclimenes Brevicarpalis ), nobbly seastar, common seastarssss, a Stonefish and a dieing octopus. No crabs, just lots of molted ghost shells.
Though I have been guiding for quite some time now, I still feel that the knowledge that I know is inadequate, adding to that, I kept forgetting the facts. So, I've decided to have an animal a day... to help remember and revise before I forget all of them by the next reefwalk!
A love affair with knowledge will never end in heartbreak - Micheal Garrett Marino
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Hollow Cheek Stonefish - Pulau Hantu 
Synanceja horrida (Linnaeus)
Scorpaenidae
Scorpionfishes (family Scorpaenidae) have a row of venomous spines on the dorsal fin.
Among them, the stonefish (Synanceja horrida) is probably the most feared, for its sting has been known to cause human deaths. The dorsal spines along its back are linked to glands packed with lethal venom, and even a slight brush with them can result in excruciating pain for the victim.
That is precisely the reason, why it is so important that while walking on reef flats, we must put on protective footwear and more importantly watch where you step. Avoid stepping on rocks, other then the fact that they are super slippery, you might accidentally step on the stonefish which bears a strong resemblance to algae-encrusted coral rocks.
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