What are these?

[huskychemist]

I took a family trip to Koh Larn and did some snorkeling at a beach called Samae. While there, I spotted these two interesting critters.

One is obviously a jellyfish. Very beautiful, in my opinion, even if my picture wasn't great. Lots of fish hanging out in its tentacles...interesting relationship. Any help with the species ID? And for a Thailand neophyte, are there any jellies in the area to be concerned about?

And the second critter I take to be a tunicate of some sort. But I've never seen them before that looked like this. They were floating in the water column, and on the bottom in the sandy area. Any ID help here? Many thanks!

And on that note, can anybody recommend good species ID websites for Thailand? (Or the "Indo-Pacific" area in general?) I have yet to find any sites that were comprehensive enough to be all that helpful. Any books you can recommend that are helpful for this area? Thanks!

 

[Bubble Junky]

Any books you can recommend that are helpful for this area?

Not sure about your ID questions, but these are two great books.

 

[limbo]

Both aren't mentioned in these books though and both are very common in the Gulf.

The jelly fish and the second critter, although seasonal, can be seen a lot.

No names right now for you though.

 

[archman]

I think the jelly is a semaeostome type... which includes Lion's Mane (Cyanea) and Egg Yolk( Phacellophora).

I suck with pelagic salps and their friends. Maybe you find something that looks close from this website.
http://jellieszone.com/

Oh, and PM a moderator to move this thread to the "Name that Critter" subforum. Most of the biologists and amateur ID people hang out there.

 

[huskychemist]

Thanks for the answers everybody. And I PMed a moderator to move the thread...so hopefully I'll get even more specifics.

Thanks.