Mystery pink appendage

Fish & Invertebrate sightings and descriptions, hosted by resident NWDC ID expert Janna Nichols (nwscubamom).
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JeremyB
Avid Diver
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Joined: Thu Jul 08, 2010 9:03 pm

Mystery pink appendage

Post by JeremyB »

Diving at Possession Point Fingers last weekend I came upon a long, pink fleshy thing that I first thought was a man made object. However, when I picked up the end of it and looked closer it looked like some sort of worm or tentacle (sans suction cups). It started to retract slightly after I picked it up. It was very long (5-10 feet) but started to get shorter and consequently fatter. I followed it around a rock to see what it was attached to, but the other end just went into a crevice. I showed my buddy, picking it up again, and it retracted a bit more. Finally I thought to take a picture, but only got this rushed, out of focus snapshot as it recoiled into it's crevice. Any ideas?
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Dusty2
I've Got Gills
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Re: Mystery pink appendage

Post by Dusty2 »

Looks and sounds like a ribbon worm. They can get amazingly long
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JeremyB
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Re: Mystery pink appendage

Post by JeremyB »

I think you nailed it. A quick look at internet images found a photo that looks exactly what I saw. So 10 feet wasn't exaggerating - they can get to be many 10's of feet long apparently.

Thanks for the ID!
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nwscubamom
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Re: Mystery pink appendage

Post by nwscubamom »

Agree 100% with Dusty. They're funky little/big things!

- Janna
Janna Nichols
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