Unknown in Cozumel

[Karibelle]

10 - how large is it? and where did you see it? what site, how deep, what time of day?

8 - possibly a variable boring sponge?

 

[Karibelle]

10 - maybe a colonial tunicate of some sort?

 

[designbysue]

#10 was about 4 - 5 inches in diameter - and was found in about 8 feet of water on a shore dive in the afternoon.

 

[Karibelle]

did it look hard? or wavy... it looks like tiny separate units with a circular opening in each. true?

and what site were you at? i.e. where were you shore diving from?

 

[designbysue]

No it was not hard - looked like a plant of some sort - moving with the water. Looked sort of like lace to me. (the thought of a lettuce sea slug sort of fits what it looked like but as you can see it is attached to the coral) We were somewhere near the Money Bar - just a bit north of Fiesta Americana.

 

[deborahdelamar]

I like the suggestion that #10 is a photo of tunicates. They appear to be fairly large individuals, each with stalk and oral opening. Since they attach to the substrate, the frilly cups probably evolved to guide & trap food as the water flows by. Whether these are colonial or simply together by accident is for an expert on sea squirts to say. I've never seen these. They're very pretty. Great find & shot.

 

[Karibelle]

I just came upon these photos, and am looking for more to confirm... possibly a true tulip egg casing? or a horse conch egg casing?

Southeast American Shoreline Studies: Tulip Snail Egg Cases

kari

 

[designbysue]

Here's a couple of images zoomed in


Its' so wonderful when you find something that is unusual - thanks for all of your input.