Egg Spirals ?

[maractwin]

The similar picture in the book is of Diamondback Squid, Thysanoteuthis rhombus. The text explains that many squids of open ocean have a similar reproductive strategy (unlike inshore squid who attach their eggs to rocks).

 

[calypsonick]

Thanks maractwin. Here is a good web page with life history on it:

http://tolweb.org/tree?group=Thysanoteuthis_rhombus&contgroup=Oegopsida

 

[Rick Murchison]

Great!
Thanks for the research; I've added another little back-pocket wonder to my "lets go find one" list.
Rick

 

[alcina]

This reinforces my belief that the floaties are just as interesting as the stuff we see on the reef!

Excellent find and thanks for finding the answer & references

 

[mano kihikihi]

Here is a second idea maybe to look into, could be right could be wrong, I dont have any photos, but many frogfish species produce a very large coil of eggs that unfolds at the surface to look like a long tube of eggs as in your picture. It floats along with flotsam jestam until hatching, much the same way open ocean squid do. Does some body have more info on the frogfish egg coils to compare? Would love to know

 

[Epifauna]

Might be a little late in the thread but I don't think it's a squid egg mass simply because of the shape and size of each individual. Will check with a mate who's a squid guru. I thought it might be a salp when I first saw the photos but those 'individual' bits make me think otherwise...watch this space.
E*

 

[Epifauna]

How wrong was I? Tis definitely squid eggs - confirmed by squid expert. I'll go now. :cwmddd: