Eggs?

[Humongous]

My friend Eric & I dove Leo Carillo this past Saturday and came across several of the following attached to the sandy bottom. Was wondering if anyone knows what they might be?

 

[Beachlover]

My friend Eric & I dove Leo Carillo this past Saturday and came across several of the following attached to the sandy bottom.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/humongous/2453179830/" title="Leo Carillo_4-26-08_009 by Humongous, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2317/2453179830_85277e1352.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Leo Carillo_4-26-08_009" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/humongous/2453179742/" title="Leo Carillo_4-26-08_007 by Humongous, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3023/2453179742_b8025d2d27.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Leo Carillo_4-26-08_007" /></a>

Can't see any pictures....

 

[Humongous]

Apologies, updated before attaching pictures. Should see them now.

 

[nannymouse]

Is it one of these?
Monterey Bay Aquarium: Online Field Guide

Snoop around and see if you can find it here:
Monterey Bay Aquarium: Online Field Guide

Did it taste good?
-N

 

[drbill]

Are these almost gelatinous and hollow rather than solid? If so, they may be something that has stumped me for several years. I think I've seen them a few times here off Catalina, but did encounter them several times over sandy bottoms on the mainland. Appear to be an egg case but I couldn't ID them, nor could the others I showed the images to.

Hopefully someone will come up with the answer in this thread!

 

[Humongous]

Nope, definitely not a sea cucumber. Thanks for the neat link though.
I do not believe these were animals. They are greenish-beige with only one end attached to the sand with the rest of it swaying in the surge. Although neither my friend or myself touched them they appeared to be gelatinous. My guess is that they are some sort of eggs.

 

[nannymouse]

From your second discription, I remember seeing those at la Jolla Shores. I thought that they were the feeding part of something under the sand. The top end was open, bolstering your theory that they are empty egg sacs. -N

 

[HBDiveGirl]

Something that looks very nearly the same is very common right now in the sandy shallows (1 to 4 fsw) next to Malaga Cove in Palos Verdes.

I've seen these in Laguna, Veteran's Park, Malibu, Pt Dume, Anacapa, and Catalina over the past 5 years of diving, and have yet to get a confirmed ID. I may go to Malaga on a low tide this week and dig one up.

Thanks for getting pictures and posing the question.

~~~~
Claudette

 

[drbill]

Looked for my pix of them but they must be buried in one of my hard disks. If I can find them, I'll post here. Claudette, hope you can bring one up and we can get an ID.

It figures, as soon as I post the above I find the image on my ZIP drive. This one is a bit tattered.

 

[HBDiveGirl]

Yes, YES, YES!!!

Those are exactly the thingies in question.

Thanks, Bill.

~~~~
Claudette