Young Nautilus

𝗦𝗺𝗼𝗹, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘆 💪 Ever seen tiny sand balls scattered across the beach? They're created by small 𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝘂𝗯𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗮𝗯𝘀 (Scopimera and Dotilla genera)! They filter sand for edible particles before rolling the rest of the (now clean) sand into a ball and kicking it away. They start doing this the moment the tide is low, and when it returns, they create a bubble of air and hide in their burrows to wait it out. 🌊 They say that you can tell how long the tide has been out by the number of sand balls you see!

🪟 The scientific name Scopimera means 'thighs with windows in them', and it is inspired by these crabs' ability to breathe through their legs - with the help of membranous discs known as tympana! 😱 These windowed-thigh owners are also fiercely territorial (yes, despite the smol-ness). 💥

Sand bubbler crabs play an important role in cleaning and aerating the sand (and providing food for predators)! So the next time you see sand balls on the beach, do avoid stepping on them, as you might be stepping on a tiny sand bubbler crab 🦀

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗺𝗼𝗵𝗮𝘄𝗸? 🐔 We saw this cutie (AKA the Yellow-Lined Epeus) during a walk at Sungei Buloh! 🙀 Spiders are often feared or hated, but in reality they are actually nature's pest busters, keeping our environment free of annoying pests! 🕷 Also, they can even be adorable. ☺️ Watch on to learn more about this one!

P.S. Sorry about the blurry front camera - the focus decided to stop working forever 😰

𝗔 𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁...𝗶𝗻 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗱𝗮𝘆𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 (?!) ☀️ We saw this horn-eyed ghost crab staying dead still in the afternoon, but why? 🤔 These crabs are usually only active at night, and if you do see them in the day they're scuttling at lightning speed across the sands back into their burrows at the high-water mark. 💡 We soon realised it had a (still breathing!) goby fish that it had caught, pinned under one claw. 🐟 It's a good thing these crabs can survive for long periods of time out of water! We hope it got to eat its hard-earned prize ❇️ (Also featuring another unlucky ghost crab we freed from a fishing net!)

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗳𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗼𝗱? 😮 Well, neither have we, but we did see a (dead) tripodfish on one of our recent intertidal walks! ❇️ Often found in the Indo-Pacific, these strange-looking fish are thought to use their long dorsal spikes to deter predators from eating them (we imagine it's like getting a very large fishbone stuck in your throat 😩). Watch to find out more about them! 🐠 P.S. We do see live ones on our intertidal walks, but they are rare (and happily swimming somewhere else!)

🤔 Singapore was once one of their homes...𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗻𝗼𝘄? 🇲🇾 Come along to Johor with us to learn about the culture of the indigenous Orang Seletar from their community ✨️️️️️️️ These sea nomads have now settled in villages along the cost of Johor, Malaysia - 1️⃣ discover their deep connection to the environment on a guided mangrove boat tour, and 2️⃣ pay a visit to a floating mussel farm! 🗓️ Happening 1 day only on 𝟭𝟭 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲, so book your slots now! 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗶𝗿𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝟮𝟭 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 🤩 More details at youngnautilus.com/shop!

*𝗣𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗲: The Traditional Weaving workshop is 𝗻𝗼𝘁 included in this package.

𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗲𝘆𝗲𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗲 𝘀𝗮𝘄 𝗼𝗻 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗲? Pygmy seahorses are true seahorses, just incredibly mini (around the size of your fingernail!) 👆 These remarkable mini fish are highly specialised to adapt to their challenging environments. 🔎 However, this specialisation also makes them vulnerable, as several species need their specific coral hosts in order to survive. 🤔 Have you ever been lucky enough to see a pygmy seahorse on a dive? Let us know 💬

📖 Read more about pygmy seahorses here: https://dr-richardsmith.com/pygmy-seahorse-guide