Strange seaslug? in Florida
August 5, 2006
From: Andrew Cook
On a recent trip to Coquina Beach, Bradenton, Florida, USA, my friend and I observed what appeared to be a sort of seaslug. They were in the intercoastal waterway in about two to three feet of water. We saw many of these, thirty to forty, in a small area. At first I thought I was looking at a seastar because of their shape. They had five arms and were covered with leafy protuberances on the top. They were brownish with some greens. Under, they had a round foot about four inches in diameter. When I lifted one it swam back to the bottom in an undulating motion. They ranged in size from three to six inches in diameter. If you have any idea what we saw I would be interested to know what it was.
Locality: Coquina Beach, Anna Maria Island, Bradenton Florida, USA, Gulf of Mexico, 26 July 2006, 2-4 ft, muddy bottom. Length: 3-6 in.
Andrew Cook
lanaibrat@verizon.net
Cook, A., 2006 (Aug 5) Strange seaslug? in Florida . [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/17311Dear Andy,
From your description I suspect you saw a group of large jellyfish - swimming and resting upside down, probably Cassiopeia. By chance I have recently posted a message from Carlos Munda, with photos, of this type of jellyfish from the Philippines [#17236]. I have given some background information on why they swim upside down there.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Related messages
-
Re: Solar-powered jellyfish from the Philippines
From: Carlos Munda, July 29, 2006 -
Solar-powered jellyfish from the Philippines
From: Carlos R. Munda, July 28, 2006 -
Re: Mystery from Marseille
From: Baki Yokes, July 28, 2006 -
Re: Mystery from Marseille
From: Cristian Magnani, July 27, 2006 -
Mystery from Marseille
From: Nadine Neels, July 27, 2006
