Any idea what this tube is?

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It looks like a sea cucumber of some sort or maybe a large tunicate?

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[img]http://i270.photobucket.com/albums/jj89/ClaudiaTraveller/Unknown-.gif[/img]

Unknown-.gif
 
If those dimensions you quote are correct, that thing was huuuuuge.
I have seen sea cucumbers that long but they were always skinny.

It looks translucent/almost transparent in the pic, is that correct? Do you have any other images? Hard to tell if it is a cuke or a colonial animal (more likely) or even a huge egg cluster ????
 
It's not a sea cucumber - it's transparent with no obvious head and tail. We looked up Salps and tunicates but they didn't seem to match. We thought about eggs too, but if they are eggs - what laid them? (The dimensions are correct) And they were very unprotected - barely hidden under the overhang which doesn't seem like a smart thing to do with your eggs.

I just looked at your link, Kukuisa. (Sorry - I didn't realise it was a relevant link) Now your Salp looks a lot like my 'tube' - maybe we are indeed on the right track.

Anyone else with suggestions?
 
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Thanks for that, Leslie - your squid eggs look right - the only proviso being that we found our tube at 35 - 45 feet, not "just beneath the surface". We've been speculating that maybe it had got caught in the overhang, but how did it get down there in the first place? There had been recent storms in the area, but that would surely have to be a helluva storm to push it so deep!
I don't suppose we'll ever know for sure, but I appreciate the help and suggestions. Many thanks.
 
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