Back to the lost coast!

Last Friday we were back at the vast shores of the Lost Coast and we decided to at a look at another stretch which we didn't had to chance to visit previously.

On this shore are numerous sand dollars that are virtually everywhere! What amuses me is this disused orange container with the $ sign written on it. I think someone was trying to get some dollars from the bank by collecting them with this container (sand dollars on sand bank... get it?). Haha!!

Back to our usual sane note, I noticed that the Cake sand dollars (Arachnoides placenta) can appear in slightly different shapes and patterns. In this photo you can see a round individual and a pentagon individual. The pentagon sand dollar also has a slightly different pattern.

Prowling on the sand flat are numerous of the moon snails (Family Naticidae) where their mantle looks like a full moon when extended. This is the Ball moon snail (Polinices didyma).

A special moon snail that I had found buried underneath the sand would be this uncommon Calf moon snail (Natica vitellus). The shell has orangey brown spiralling bands.

This moon snail with lots of lines is aptly named as the Lined moon snail (Natica lineata).When I handled this snail to take a closer look, I got pricked by one of its edges and thus suffered a cut. :( Got to be more careful next time!

Ria mentioned that the three Naked moon snails (Sinum sp.) that we came across during our previous trip were different and therefore we tried to find more. I only found one though as the tide was coming in real fast.

We saw some Olive snails (Family Olividae) in the sand bar. In this photo, it is quite distinctive that the bigger beige snail with little or no patterns on the shell is different from the other two. I am not too sure on their exact identity.

Of course, we came across many Grey bonnet snails (Phalium glaucum) on this shore, just like our previous trips. Many were also found buried under the sand.

Unlike the Bonnets, the Fig snails (Ficus variegata) are less commonly seen alive though many of their shells can be found on the high shore.

We also have not managed to encounter live versions of the sundial and cone snails though their shells can also be found quite commonly washed up on the higher shores here.

The only slug find of the day would be the Philine sp. white slugs that Ria recently coined it as the Attap Chee slug as it looks like one! Haha...

Back to the echinoderms, the Laganum sand dollars (Laganum depressum) are much rarer as than the Cake sand dollars though I prefer the former.

Two of these brittle stars were found high and dry and one had two arms broken off!

Anemones wise, I came across this Haddon's carpet anemone (Stichodactyla haddoni) and also a Plain sea anemone.

Strangely, we found this crab which looks like it belongs more to a rocky shore.

This crab looks like the Spotted-belly forceps crab (Ozius guttatus), but it seems to be some kind of Eriphia.

This boulder is one of the rare ones that can be found with lots of drills laying colourful egg capsules.

Towards the end of the trip, Mei Lin gamely posed with this abandoned and poorly soaked TY bear found lying on the shore.

During this trip, we hiked several kilometres to get to the shore as there was a miscomm regarding the time for the boat to pick up us. It was a good walk as the trail was scenic!

But of course at the end of walking for so long with blisters on my feet, I am exceptionally thankful to have the boat to bring us back. And also to thank God for the miraculous great weather despite the rainy season going on these days. :)