Chek Jawa

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Spiral melongena (Pugilina cochlidium) laying its eggs

This snail lays its eggs in rows on hard surfaces. Each "petal" is an egg capsule.

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Venus clam (Family Veneridae)

Venerid shells are strong burrowers, digging in vertically by violently rocking themselves. This particular species are edible and often collected for food. This one has its siphon extended to feed.

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Venus clam (Family Veneridae)

This Venus clam has pretty lines. Although clams are among the favourite seafood of people everywhere, they are among the sea creatures that are affected by red tide. During a red tide, there is a bloom of harmful micro-organisms that do not kill the clam but is toxic to humans that eat the clam.

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Whelk (Nassarius sp.)

This tiny whelk has an even tinier passenger: a sea anemone on its shell. These scavenging snails are commonly seen. They can move rapidly especially when they detect the aroma of the recent dead!

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Olive whelk (Nassarius olivaceus)

This whelk is much larger than the other more commonly seen whelk species.

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Fan Shell (Family Pinnidae)

Burying themselves in sand with only their widest parts protruding out of the sand, these shells can grow to more than 10cm. Their edges are sharp and can cut unprotected feet.

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Fan Shell (Family Pinnidae)

This large living Fan shell was found above the sand. We left it in the water after taking a photo of it. Fan shells were once common on the sandy beaches of Singapore. They are now rare elsewhere in Singapore.

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Green mussels (Perna viridis)

These large bivalves attach to hard surfaces by byssus threads. They are adapted to water with a high silt content. Also called 'kupang', they are edible and eaten locally.

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Button Shells (Umbonium vestiarum)

So beautiful that we have dubbed them "the Jewels of Chek Jawa", hundreds of these tiny snails are found in the northern arm of the sand bar. They are preyed upon by the moon shell.

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Onyx cowrie (Cypraea onyx)

The Onyx cowrie is not seen as often as the Ovum cowrie. It has a handsome black body which covers the glossy shell when the snail is alive..

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Ovum cowrie (Cypraea ovum)

These beautiful snails are fast disappearing in Singapore. Previously, 20 species of cowries were found in Singapore, but now not more than 10 remain. The Ovum cowrie is still common under rocks on Chek Jawa.

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Moon Snail (Natica tigrina)

Moon Snails move through wet sand with their oversized foot and mantle. They eat other snails and clams. The Moon Shell uses its foot to enclose its prey, secretes an acid to weaken the shell of the victim, then uses its radula (a rough tongue-like organ) to rasp a hole through the shell of its victim.

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Sand Collar of a Moon Shell (Family Naticidae)

This intriguing object is actually the egg capsule of the Moon Snail. The snail incorporates sand and mucus with its eggs which hardens into a hard plastic-like collar.

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Egg capsule of a Drill

These beautiful rosettes are the egg capsules of the Drill. These egg capsules are laid on the shell of another snail (Pugilina cochlidium) which has been taken over by a hermit crab.

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Unknown egg mass

This is an egg mass of an unknown creature, possibly a snail.

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Sponges (Phylum Porifera)

Sponges of all shapes and colours thrive in the coral rubble area. They can be seen easily only at very low spring tides.

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Sponges (Phylum Porifera)

Sponges of all shapes and colours are abundant in the coral rubble area.

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Sponges (Phylum Porifera)

A sponge is a simple animal made up of a few types of cells. These cells are largely independent of each other and only loosely held together. A sponge can almost be considered a colony of cells. These cells do not form organs so a sponge does not have a mouth, digestive system or circulatory system!

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Sponges (Phylum Porifera)

Sponges feed by generating a current of water through their bodies and filtering out tiny edible titbits.

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Sponges (Phylum Porifera)

Soft and immobile, sponges protect themselves with some of the most powerful poisons known in nature. A sponge doesn't have to wait to be eaten before it irritates with its toxins. Sponges can release toxins into the water to deter other creatures that try to grow on or near them.

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