Taijian Academy is preserving the original landscape and landforms and building a stilt house for the Sicao fish farm area lying on the north side of the estuary wetlands of Yanshui River in Taijian National Park. Waters in the park flow between each independent fish farm, and connect to the estuary wetlands of Yanshuei River nearby, forming a natural tidal water body and providing aquatic lives with habitat waters. Over the past few years, a variety of aquatic organisms have been found in Taijian Academy. Do you know who they are? Let's get to know them now!
Under the stilt platform in the park in summer, the waters at the inlet and outlet of the shallow part of the platform are clear. When the waters flow at high speed, you can see a white feather floating. That is the aiptasia pulchella (Figure 1). They are highly sensitive; once being touched, they immediately retreat their pinnate tentacles. Aiptasia pulchella helps remove the organic matters in water; they are also highly adaptable to the environment. Another creature typically found at the confluence where water bodies exchange at high speed is the spotted halfbeak Zenarchopterus Dunckeri, aka the net patcher in water (Figure 2). It has a long and slim body and a needle-like mouth, mainly lives in clean waters, migrates in schools and is commonly found at the water gates of the park and by the river sides where water weed abounds. Fish moving in schools include not only the spotted halfbeak, but also the Chelon Subviridis (Figure 3), aka chelon affinis. They mainly live in places with a terrain composed of sand slime substrate and are commonly found in deep waters or mangrove forests. Near the water gates of the park, you can find the striated Terapon Jarbua (Figure 4), the dotted, sharp-dorsal spine, and the poisonous spotted scat (Figure 5). In addition, fish moving in schools in the park also include tilapia (Mozambique tilapia) (Figure 6). They have been living here for long since the time when Taijian Academy was still a land of fish farms. Hidden in the deep pools in the park is a large carnivorous fish; also known as torpedo, the fish is named Sphyraena Barracuda (Figure 7). They have a long body that is slightly flattened on the side, a large gape length, sharp teeth on the upper and lower jaws, and are carnivorous. They often move together in small groups, swim well and fast, and are highly aggressive towards fleeing preys. They swim in the waters of the academy leisurely, as if they were patrolling ships.
Shifting your eyes from the underwater creatures to the beach surroundings the park, you can find many fiddler crabs doing gymnastics on the beach. Male fiddler crabs have giant chela, mostly for fighting and courtship. Fiddler crabs commonly seen in the park include tubuca arcuata (Figure 8), uca borealis (Figure 9), paraleptuca crassipes (Figure 10), austruca lactea (Figure 11), and austruca perplexa (Figure 12), all of which are aquatic creatures commonly found on the beach of Taijian Academy. Aside from fiddler crabs, you can occasionally find other creatures on the beach, including mud skippers, flat jump shrimps, and thiara riqueti. Aside from those commonly seen species, what else can be seen under the stilt house of Taijian Academy? These hidden creatures are waiting for your discovery.