what are these bagpipe-looking things?

[tangaloomaflyer]

Came across several of these little blobs on the floor and walls of Flat Rock reef of Stradbroke Island, Queensland.

Sorry, don't have a photo, but I'll try and describe them.

They are about 10cm across. Marbled cream/deep red colour. Look like a bag with two pipes about 5cm long and about 3cm in diameer protruding from them. The pipes have an opening about 2cm across. the opening is almost round, but pinched slightly to form a symmetrical shape.. When touched the openings close into a cross. the organism is anchored onto the reef and did'nt seem to be moving. They almost have the appearance of a human heart.

Any ideas?

 

[adshepard]

Your description sounds exactly like a tunicate. Here in the western North Atlantic we have a species locally called a sea peach which is orange and about the size of a golf ball. The siphons do close on approach most times.

 

[Quero]

Is this something like what you saw?

http://www.barrierreefaustralia.com/IMAGEGALLERY/seasquirt.htm

"Sea squirt" (or tunicate to use it's proper label) was what came to mind with your description, though I generally see purple ones, not red.

 

[AlaskaDiver]

Certainly sounds like a member of the Tunicates or more familiarly the Sea Squirts. Quero above mentions Polycarpa aurata (purple and yellow - very common) and I was thinking from the 'cross' description at the opening of Polycarpa papillata. This link is pretty good. Photos of the papillata are all over the map as far as color and texture.

http://www.edge-of-reef.com/tunicati/htmen/TUNlistasolitarien.htm

 

[tangaloomaflyer]

Thanks guys,

I think the species i saw was H. Momas, although it's surface was smooth (i.e. no epibiotics).

cheers, Matt