Jellyfish?

[the_cat_keeper]

I was diving in Southern Leyte in the Philippines 2 weeks ago. At a dive site called Turtle Rock, I saw a funny creature "coiled" around corals (usually Acropora family as shown in the photos). The creature moved up and down and sometimes sideways. I tried to capture its image but found it difficult as it seemed to be avoiding my camera. I thought it might be some kind of jellyfish because there were so many jellyfish all over Sogod bay.

I managed to catch a few shots of the creature. Shot 1 shows what it looked like when it "collapsed". Shot 2 showed when the creature started to move upwards. Shot 3 is a shot of it moving even further upwards. Shot 4 was when it was almost completely at its maximum height.

Shot 1: http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/70121/cat/2274
Shot 2: http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/70119/cat/2274
Shot 3: http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/70120/cat/2274
Shot 4: http://www.scubaboard.com/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/70118/cat/2274

I looked into my reef guide but didn't find anything remotely looking like this creature. Many thanks in advance for solving my mystery!

Cat.

 

[AlaskaDiver]

Lovely photos. You did a good job of getting a shot from many angles. It is a Siphonophore. The creature darts about getting its tentacles in place (kind of like setting a net) for its prey. It also may not have liked your flash. Check out this website if you'd like to identify it further. http://jellieszone.com/siphonophore.htm

 

[the_cat_keeper]

AlaskaDiver,

thanks! It was kinda creepy seeing how it moved. Having said that it looked so beautiful too...