No Idea What This Is

[BrewingDiver]

OK, guys, first, I very much apologize for the quality of this photo. So far it's the best I could do with my scanner but I'll try another route (original is a clear image on a 35mm slide so there are options) if we can't ID it. This was taken in the mid-70s on the beach in Padre Island. At the time we assumed it was a jellyfish, and there were maybe hundreds or more washed up. I was a young kid on vacation with my family. Years past and I became a diver so I obviously know a lot more about marine life than back then, but sometimes think about this guy. We were recently going thru old slides and I came across this one. From memory it's probably 6-10 inches long, with almost like a fan tail on the back, and 'flippers' on the sides. Milky white/translucent in color. It's orientation in the photo here is head to the left, tail to the right, and you are looking straight down at it lying on the sand.

Any help is appreciated. It's been bugging me on and off for years.

 

[T.C.]

Can you take a picture with a camera or phone of that clear 35mm slide?

 

[JackOfDiamonds]

I know its probably the poor image quality but that thing kind of reminds me a Trilobite

 

[rhwestfall]

sunfish fry?

 

[BrewingDiver]

Here is another try, using my phone, against a blank Word document open on my screen for backlight. I can't focus any closer. I could not quite get my digital camera a stay focused on it properly (no manual focus). I googled Trilobite, but I don't think it's that. Quite a bit different.

 

[Steve_C]

Yeh, sure looks like a mola mola.

 

[archman]

That looks exactly like a cannonball (or cabbage head, or Stomolophus) jellyfish sitting on its side. The bell is clearly visible on the left. They commonly wash ashore in large numbers on Texas beaches.

 

[Snoweman]

+1 for the Mola Mola.

 

[BrewingDiver]

That looks exactly like a cannonball (or cabbage head, or Stomolophus) jellyfish sitting on its side. The bell is clearly visible on the left. They commonly wash ashore in large numbers on Texas beaches.

Based on doing a google image search of the Stomolophus, I'd say this is the most confident I've been that it's accurate. The things on its side that look like fins or arms are probably the result of gravity pushing down on a dehydrated section of the bell. I apologize for being away for a bit. I'm still looking for another solution to get a clearer image to upload. I tried it on a scanner at work but it was worse that at home. Maybe some photographers out there have an idea how to reproduce it so all can see it clearly, which the slide is. Further input welcome, and I appreciate all the above.

 

[Umi-ushi]

+1 mola fry