Underwater Alien ID

[Deuces]

Well, my friend at the Aquarium who is in charge of all the Jellies confirms that it's "a siphonophore. A type of colonial jellyfish. They are related to the Portugurese man o war - and they sting really really hard. The one pictured is Praya spp. The chain can be as long as 120 feet, but probably longer. They come from the deep sea. 200 - 400m in depth. We get them around here as broken chains after a strong upwelling."

You da man, Larry!

Thanks all for the help everyone! I wish I could have taken more and better pictures.

 

[AlaskaDiver]

Deuces;
Praya Sp is part of the order Calycophora under Siphonophores. I have a wonderful book in case you are interested in other invertebrates. Its called the Pacific Coast Pelagic Invertebrates; A Guide to the Common Gelatinous Animals by David Wrobel and Claudia Mills. Monterey Bay Aquarium publishes it. It has photos of Praya dubia and Praya reticulata. Most fall under the family Diphyidae. Book has nice photos and a very interesting 'tree' of scientific names in the back for identifications and cross references.