The sea creatures hiding in plain sight on Mumbai's shores

One evening at Juhu beach, past the chana jor garam vendors, shirtless men getting massages on the sand and the families with excited toddlers on picnic mats, photographer Shaunak Modi was in a tide pool photographing cuttlefish eggs. It was egg-laying season and Modi knew the drill—look long and hard enough and you would spot the embryos swimming inside the eggs. Then suddenly, before his eyes, an egg hatched and a baby cuttlefish was born. Most people in the crowds behind him will never know the tiny miracle he witnessed, nor would they know about the eggs in the tide pool. That’s what Modi is trying to change.

Modi is a co-founder of the Coastal Conservation Foundation, and a photographer for their flagship project called Marine Life of Mumbai (MLOM). For five years, the non-profit has been working to introduce the people of Mumbai to the city’s marine life. “Before we started out, there was little to no baseline data for Mumbai’s marine biodiversity after the 1960s,” says Modi. “We felt the need to create that and show people that Mumbai has a lot more to offer in terms of nature beyond Sanjay Gandhi National Park.”

Modi has had his fair share of fascinating discoveries on the shores. He has spotted carpet sharks at Nepean Sea Road, marbled shrimp—a species typically found only in reefs—at Haji Ali and five species of sea slugs that were otherwise considered a lost species in Mumbai. Another time, Modi photographed a tiny slug (of the species Goniodoris Kolabana, named after Colaba where it was discovered) at Bandstand only to later find out that he had taken the first ever documented photograph of the species, which was discovered at a time when cameras did not exist.

“If you head to Juhu beach or Girgaon Chowpatty on a Sunday, you will see at least a lakh people there,” he says. “And almost all of them are oblivious to what they are sharing the space with. That’s what makes Mumbai’s shoreline all the more special to me. We’ve continued sharing space with these animals for centuries and there’s such a small section of society in Mumbai that has known of their existence.” Now, MLOM conducts free guided shore walks for interested citizens to introduce them to the marine life that coexists with them on Mumbai’s beaches. While their website has detailed guidelines for anyone who is looking to attend a shore walk, Modi insists that there’s nothing to worry about. “Come with an open mind and get ready to get your feet wet,” he says. “There are no tickets, you don’t need a vehicle. You just need to walk, pick up rocks and look at them—you will find a whole world that’s hidden in plain sight.”

Violet zoanthids (zoanthus sansibaricus): These magnificent looking animals are a shore favourite! These are one of the two most commonly found zoantharian species and are closely related to soft corals and often confused for them. They’re found on flat shallow tidepools on the lower reaches of certain shores. The best place to see them in Mumbai is Nepean Sea Road.

Scale worm (Paralepidonotus ampulliferus): Pangolins of the sea? These unusual-looking animals are commonly seen under rocks. Their backs are covered by a double row of plate-like overlapping scales, very reminiscent of similar features seen in many other unrelated animals. These worms can be found on almost every rocky shore of the city.

Feather duster worm

Mangrove leaf slug (Elysia bangtawensis): A leaf that moves! Not only does the mangrove leaf slug look like a leaf, it can also behave like one. They retain chloroplasts from the algae they feed on and use it to generate energy from sunlight when there’s little food to go by.

Japanese Trapania (Trapania japonica): This brown speckled sea slug is found on the lower reaches of the Nepean Sea Road shore and is a relatively lesser-seen sea slug species. The best place to find them is the Nepean Sea Road rocky shore.

Green Button Polyps (Palythoa mutuki): The larger of the two zoantharian species found in Mumbai, these are colonial animals that form large mats in shallow tidepools. Like Violet zoanthids, these are also cnidarians and are closely related to corals. While they’re found on a few shores, the best place to see them in Mumbai is on the Nepean Sea Road shore.

Banded-legged swimming crab (Charybdis annulata): This is a medium-sized swimming crab and can be found in tidepools on most rocky shores. These are swimming crabs and unlike some other crab species in the intertidal, can’t survive out of water for very long.

Star-tentacled Bornella (Bornella stellifera): Sea slugs are a group of animals like no other. They are bright coloured and come in all shapes that can be best described as alien. This species is one of the larger ones found in Mumbai. They grow to about 3cm in length and feed on small hydroids that grow on or under rocks. While they’re found on multiple shores, it’s easiest to see them at Nepean Sea Road.

Pearly sea anemone (Paracondylactis sinensis): These beautiful large sea anemones are found on our sandy shores, looking like flowers growing in the sand. These animals belong to the group cnidarians and are related to corals. The body of the animal is carrot-shaped and remains under the sand with only its oral disc and tentacles visible above. They’re filter feeders and use their venomous tentacles to latch on small animals and particles floating in the water to bring it to its mouth at the centre of the oral disc.

Hermit crab (Clibanarius sp.): The most abundant group of animals on our shores along with gastropods are hermit crabs. Unlike larger crabs, these are soft-bodied and rely on empty shells for protection. RVers of the marine world, these animals carry their homes around with them everywhere they go. In Mumbai you can see them on every single shore with different species inhabiting shells of different shapes and sizes.

Verrill’s Encrusting Cup Coral (Polycyathus verrilli): There’s no shortage of corals on our shores. This is one of the most common species of hard corals in Mumbai. They inhabit the lower reaches of our shore. You will find them in almost every tidepool if you walk along the low tide line. In Mumbai we see them on every rocky shore along the western seaboard.

Striped Green Sea anemone (Diadumene lineata): These tiny anemones inhabit shallow tidepools. A little less than a centimetre in diameter, you’ll only see them if you really pay attention. These animals originated in Asia but today are found across shores in the Northern hemisphere. In Mumbai, you can see them on the Haji Ali rocky shore.

Indian spineless cuttlefish (Sepiella inermis): A lesser-known relative of the octopus, these small cuttlefish are indigenous to the Indo-pacific. They grow to about 10cm in length and mostly inhabit shallow waters. In Mumbai it’s more common to see their eggs, which they lay on sandy shores during winters (November-January). This animal was photographed at Juhu beach.

Knob-tipped hydroids (Eudendrium sp.): Easily confused for plants, these are in fact animals. They’re cnidarians and are related to jellyfish and corals. They prefer deep, sheltered tidepools and can be found on many rocky shores from Bandra to Marine Drive. The flower-like structures you see here are its polyps which are the food of choice for the Cratena sea slug. The best places to see them in Mumbai are Bandstand and Haji Ali.

Blue button (Porpita porpita): A name so nice, you say it twice! These are monsoon visitors to our shores. These animals roam around in the open sea and are found across the world’s oceans. Before monsoon, the strong on-shore winds bring them to our shore where they can be seen most easily on our beaches.

Violet zoanthids at Nepean Sea Road

Cre: cntraveller

Đăng bởi: Khánh Vân Hồ