Need some ID help- spotted while tidepooling (Santa Cruz, CA USA)
Posted by GaryBBenson@reddit | marinebiology | View on Reddit | 14 comments
This was probably 6+ inches and rigid but fleshy. I don’t need exact ID but was stumped on leads. Any help would be appreciated!
NonSekTur@reddit
Hard to tell by the picture, but the beige part might be a sponge, Chondrilla or Chondrosia. They are know to grow from the ceiling of these small crevices with part of the body hanging like this. Some kind of fragmentation to reproduce, if I remember correctly. The black thing could be algae??
Both species have this rubbery consistency, are very slippery, and looks exactly the same to me, but Chondrilla has tiny star shaped spicules and Chondrosia have none.
GaryBBenson@reddit (OP)
Thanks for the input, looks like it is a sponge but I think u/soupcatdiver_jj got it with Spheciospongia confoederata
GaryBBenson@reddit (OP)
Solved! It is Spheciospongia confoederata. Thanks to everyone who chimed in!
SoupCatDiver_JJ@reddit
Hey op that there's a gray moon sponge, they filter water through those funny holes to eat.
here is a picture of one that looks a lot like your, but happier because it's underwater.
GaryBBenson@reddit (OP)
This is definitely it, thank you so much! There are some inat observations that look exactly like the one I saw
Fish_Beholder@reddit
Really hard to say from these pics, was it hanging from something? Those white spots look a little like barnacles, but idk.
GaryBBenson@reddit (OP)
In the second picture, that whole grey section is part of the same creature
jcgreen_72@reddit
Looks like a type of lamprey to me
Fish_Beholder@reddit
I am stumped. I'm not an invertebrate biologist though, hopefully someone else can figure it out. Some kind of tunicate or other encrusting organism maybe?
GaryBBenson@reddit (OP)
Yep, sorry for the poor picture framing/quality. It was hanging from a rock ledge and was shaped like a U
termsofengaygement@reddit
Honestly it looks like it could be a life stage of a seaweed or looks like holdfasts trying to be established. That is my best guess.
EzPzLemon_Greezy@reddit
The white bits look like anenomes.
hindusoul@reddit
Tentacle from an octopus 🐙?
AutoModerator@reddit
If you haven't done so already - try iNaturalist! It’s a FREE-to-use joint initiative between the California Academy of Science and National Geographic Society that crowd sources biodiversity data. It has its own algorithm to identify organisms in your photos and if that doesn't work, you can post your photos on the site or app along with a geographic location for identification from other iNaturalist users. https://www.inaturalist.org/
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.