I’ll admit it: when I first laid eyes on this intricate egg-like conglomerate of curiously gelatinous physiological complexities, I had no idea what it was! An egg sac, perhaps?
A quick consultation with iNaturalist and I learned that this was, in fact, a beached “Twin Sailed Salp” (Thetys vagina)—or a planktonic tunicate!
This transparent organism—one of the largest of its kind in the world—moves and feeds by pumping seawater through its cavernous body. Seen here are several individual tunicates aggregated together to form a chain.
See the tiny shrimp inside of them? I must have discovered them just after their lunchtime!
Once I knew what I was looking at (and that it would be safe for me, and the organism, if I touched it), I carefully returned this aggregation of salps to the ocean. I sure hope it made a safe return to sea!
“Twin Sailed Salp”
(Thetys vagina)
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