Piece of cloth, or animal?

[caledfwlch]

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?f...58.547970600&type=1&pid=18609963&id=547970600

Was diving in Tioman and spotted this... 'thing'. Was wondering whether this is a piece of discarded fabric or is actually some living thing.

Depth: 20+ metres
Time: 1300H
Water temp: 30 degrees Celsius

 

[DevonDiver]

 

[DevonDiver]

Possibly a juvenile/new growth of Tiger Sponge (Botrylliodes sp)?

Quote wikipedia:

The "Chain Sea Squirts or Chain Tunicates" of the genus Botrylloides:

Morphologically similar to Botryllus schlosseri and similarly widespread, Botrylloides is distinguished by having linearly-arranged, parallel "chains" of zooids as opposed to zooids like white or yellow stripes emanating from a common center in Botrylloides.[2]
​

Like Botryllus, Botrylloides are flat sheets of organisms which can be found covering ropes, boat hulls, horseshoe crabs, seaweeds, and any still or slow-moving object in saltwater. Also both are relative invasive Ascidians, found in many ports around the world. Invasive tunicates such as these, Didemnum sp., and Styela clava are a problem for shellfish and other marine life populations, and cause fouling of boats and piers.

Other references:

http://www.exoticsguide.org/species_pages/b_violaceus.html

Example photo: