what the heck is this???

rwlancaster

rwlancaster

New Member
Ok, this "thing" as you see below is rather large, but I always assumed it was simply the color of the rock on the back part of the larger rock it is on.
until tonight, when I saw crabs crawling on it and noticed that it was cushiony, sort of like a sofa cushion. there are two holes on it, i thought they were old barnacle locations, that are now empty but I also noticed one is somewhat closed now.
this thing sways when something walks on it. to give a size reference, there are gsp on the left side of the rock. I'd say the total length is about 3 inches, and the circumference is about 2 inches wide.
any ideas? After many online searches I found nothing similar.

 
paintballer768

paintballer768

Active Member
Honestly never seen anything like that before, tagging along for the ride lol. Does it seem to close when touched or what do you mean by "swaying"?
 
rwlancaster

rwlancaster

New Member
Originally Posted by paintballer768
http:///forum/post/2631152
Honestly never seen anything like that before, tagging along for the ride lol. Does it seem to close when touched or what do you mean by "swaying"?
yea i knew this was going to be an interesting one. i guess swaying may have been a little off. when something is on it, as well as responding like a cushion, the entire thing moves. it doesn't move much, but it moves just enough that you can tell that its one piece i guess.
i know that if i poked the end, that area would respond like a cushion, as well as the whole thing would slightly move from the poking.
hmm, this is hard to explain. my camera is a dslr, so it won't do video. maybe someone has seen one of these.
 
rwlancaster

rwlancaster

New Member
Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/2631170
I'm in to find out what it is too. I'm thinking sponge or tunicate.
I haven't had much experience with tunicates, but it seems rather large for those.
a sponge was my first guess. I have another rock with tons of various sponges on it, the texture resembles none of the. And with two holes about 1/4" wide that look like old barnacle homes, but are soft, really throw me off.
 
rwlancaster

rwlancaster

New Member
Originally Posted by paintballer768
http:///forum/post/2631262
If you mean like cushion, does that means its kinda soft or squishy? Or this is hard?
its not soft to the touch as a sponge is. It isn't squishy. I havent poked at it too hard because i dont want to hurt whatever it may be.
its hard to give an idea of its texture compared to something we use or see everyday because being underwater everything reacts differently.
it doesnt seem to react to touch as it the whole thing were alive. Being here and looking at it, it appears to be like a cocoon or house in a way. I think i may have to borrow the wifes point and shoot camera, i think it takes video.
i have had this rock about 3 weeks, so it is just now being evident to me that this thing is strange. I never touched this thing, just assuming it was differently colored rock or possibly old calcium construction.
but being soft and cushion-like, with two soft openings... i dont know. if i cant figure it out, i guess it's going to come out. that particular rock has the most green and vibrant purple gsp on it, i'd hate to have to remove this thing out of the water.
someone scholar me
 
paintballer768

paintballer768

Active Member
Hmm, Im really thinking that it could be a type of sponge we dont usually see. Like one of the sponges that have calcerous internal skeletons.
Looking at the picture, it looks like a piece of cartilage haha. Maybe some of the more experienced people or specialists could comment.
 
paintballer768

paintballer768

Active Member
Also try watching it with the lunar lights on, or try turning on the actinics after the lights have been off for a while to see if anything comes out of it at night.
 
saltfinsax

saltfinsax

Member
Tunicate/sea squirt is what I would say. I just posted mine on the ID form and its different looking but acts the same and has the two holes.
 
morval

morval

Member
yup sponge/turnicate for sure ive got some like that on one of my ric rocks that are actually fell almost slimey. i also have a red ball sponge that is different in texture. i belive urs is a type of calcerous encrusting turnicate
 
rwlancaster

rwlancaster

New Member
tunicate ... can anyone point me to anything online with this information? It doesnt seem to match anything I have found online
also, should i pull it out? I generally remove anything i am unsure of.
 
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