What is this?

I wish I had a better photo of this guy, but there was just a bit too much current for me to keep him in sight. I saw this in about 15 feet of water at Bari reef in Bonaire last week. It was approximately 2-3 inches long. I saw it at about 5:00pm. I hope someone here can educate me. Thanks.

Randall

I'd guess siphonophore. Alex

Crazy thing. Never seen anything like it. Is that a central gut or notochord?

Alex anyone at SOC who might have an idea if you are still in contact with anyone there?

Olly

Alex's right, it's a siphonophore, a type of jelly. Phylum Cnidaria, class Hydrozoa, order Siphonophorae, family Forskaliidae, genus Forskalia. It's a colonial animal with specialized polyps for buoyancy, propulsion, feeding & reproduction. The central cord is the stem to which everything attaches. The clear components at the top are the nectophores, swimming bells that propel the animal & the red ones at the bottom are the gasterozooids which feed.

This is an excellent site for information on siphonophores:

http://www.ville-ge.ch/mhng/hydrozoa/hydrozoa-directory.htm

http://www.ville-ge.ch/mhng/hydrozoa/pictures/forskalia1.htm

As is this one which is centered on the US west coast fauna

http://jellieszone.com/siphonophore.htm