What stung me? (Picture Posted)

[archman]

The hydrozoan link was interesting too. Didn't know Christmas Tree Worms stung...

Christmas Tree Worms are sedentary worms. Who the blazes told you they were hydroids? I'll fix 'em...

While in Florida diving last October there were thousands of these very small "animals" floating through the water that would sting you. They looked like tiny broken off tentacles or something. Any thoughts on what they were?

A lot of open water siphonophores resemble little chains. And if it's not those things, you can have freshly detached tentacles from all sorts of other nasties be perfectly viable for several days until they bang into something.

All this brought up another question. If all these hydroids look like plants but aren't, are there any plant looking like things in Cozumel that are actually plants????

The green algaa Acetabularia is often confused with underwater mushrooms or some odd form of soft coral. They're common name is the Mermaid's wine cup/wine glass.

 

[got4boyz]

Christmas Tree Worms are sedentary worms. Who the blazes told you they were hydroids? I'll fix 'em....

Sorry Archman, my mistake. Here is a paragraph taken from the link that crispos posted. I skimmed through it the first time and misunderstood the Christmas Tree reference. I don't know what they meant by that statement though.

"Hydrozoans are the "other" Class of cnidarians (Anthozoans making up the mainly polypoid corals, anemones, sea fans... and Scyphozoans the "real" Jellyfishes that live most of their lives as medusas, inverted bell-shapes). Most of the Hydrozoans are small, obscure not-so funny to touch Christmas tree sort of affairs, but they include such notables as Portuguese Man of War, Fire Corals (Millepora), and the beautiful delicate Stylasterines (Lace Corals) amongst their ranks."

A lot of open water siphonophores resemble little chains. And if it's not those things, you can have freshly detached tentacles from all sorts of other nasties be perfectly viable for several days until they bang into something.

That's a great way to describe them. Segments. They were probably less than an inch long and smaller than the diameter of a pencil lead divided into several segments. Thousands of them!

What's the common name for them?

they are really the free-floating stage of a bunch of things
like corals, as well as larval jellyfish, and what not.

What do you mean by free-floating stage? My first thought was that they were broken off of something else. Jellyfish start out as larva? I'm learning all kinds of interesting stuff here!

Thanks all.

 

[crispos]

We are going to start charging you for the Reef I.D. specialty course, Beth...

Post some more pictures, it sharpens us up.

 

[got4boyz]

We are going to start charging you for the Reef I.D. specialty course, Beth...

Post some more pictures, it sharpens us up.

Too funny crispos. But of course that's why I ask the questions here because I know someone can answer them without any trouble! LOL

I didn't want to be to bothersome though, so I wasn't going to post the next two pictures I had questions about, but since you asked, here they are.

OK, I lied, I have three more pics. What's the beautiful yellow, fern-like looking thing the queen angel is behind? And what are the other two of. They look like plants, but I'm guessing they probably aren't!

Thanks, and what do I owe ya?

 

[H2Andy]

the last two are anemones (both animals) i am pretty sure.

the first one is a hydroid or a gorgonian? (arggggggggggghhhh i gotta get better
at this) but either way, it's an animal too

 

[archman]

Looks like you need to brighten up those photos! Anyways, these are all easy as pie, and I can "do them" off the top of my head.

1. Nemaster, the common yellow Caribbean comatulid (featherstar) crinoid. Distantly related to starfish and their friends. They shy away from light. The tube feet are quite sticky but really cool to touch. Everyone should touch a comatulid at least once.

2. Dichocoenia (flower coral). Usually a pretty yellow or green colour when WELL LIT. Don't touch these things... you'll mess up their slime coat and piss them off. Rude parrotfish may attempt to eat them.

3. Condylactis gigantea (Caribbean purple or pink clubbed anemone). Great in aquariums, and they DON'T STING. That's right, you can go right up to these suckers and touch 'em. Their "stinging cells" are of the sticky type, which you may find startling. By the way their tentacle tips can be not only purple or pink but virtually any colour of the rainbow.

 

[mbuff]

still cool to see the pics. (I've never dove anywhere but the california coast, mostly north and never south of the channels) Thanks for posting them. I was going to guess crinoid on the first one, coral on the second (it looks calcareous) and anemone on the 3rd... but specific species are mostly beyond me when it comes to warm water stuff. Thanks for the specific ID Archman

One of the first things to capture my imagination when I started diving was how so many "plant-like" things were actually animals... one of those bizarre, slightly twisted things I like about marine life: forms a bit "off" from terrestrial life. And the weirder the critter, the more I like it

 

[The Chairman]

Sea lice usually sting you when they "dry out", or if the get caught in a tight waist band. I usually find rinsing off on the boat will stop them from getting me.

 

[H2Andy]

3. Condylactis gigantea (Caribbean purple or pink clubbed anemone).

hey, i got one right!

 

[got4boyz]

(arggggggggggghhhh i gotta get better
at this)

hey, i got one right!

LOL Andy. Don't feel too bad, I don't even have a clue. At least you got one right.

I need to buy alot of expensive books I guess for corals, sponges, jellyfish, etc. I'd love to know what they all are!


Thanks Archman, you are totally amazing! If you're ever interested maybe you'd like to look at my online photo album and identify all my corals and sponges for me?