Saw these on the beach in the south campos of San Felipe. Bahia Santa Maria area. Been down there for spring break the last 10 years and have never
seen them. Does anyone know what they are? They are about 4-5 inches long. we saw about 5 of them.
capt. mike - 4-26-2011 at 11:25 AM
looks like a chesnut to me.elbeau - 4-26-2011 at 11:26 AM
Oops...sorry. Forgot to flush.BajaLori - 4-26-2011 at 11:40 AM
another view
[Edited on 4-26-2011 by BajaLori]
BajaLori - 4-26-2011 at 11:41 AM
one more.
DENNIS - 4-26-2011 at 11:47 AM
Ohhhh Man....that thing's been eaten at least once. Do you let your kids play with stuff like that?? choyero - 4-26-2011 at 11:49 AM
Was is hard or soft to the touch?
Did it have a smell?
What did it taste like?bufeo - 4-26-2011 at 12:28 PM
Difficult to tell from the photos and description, but you might think about ambergris. I don't know if it (or something similar) comes from any
cetaceas other than sperm whales or not. Anyway, just a guess.
Allen R
P.S. In retrospect, probably not ambergris, especially since I just noticed that you found 4 or 5 of them.
[Edited on 4-26-2011 by bufeo]ELINVESTIG8R - 4-26-2011 at 12:37 PM
Is it a seed pod?BajaLori - 4-26-2011 at 02:04 PM
Choyero
Not sure if you are kidding or not, but it was soft and I did not taste or smell it.shari - 4-26-2011 at 02:08 PM
looks lke some kind of sea sponge...smelling it helps for sure.bacquito - 4-26-2011 at 02:10 PM
A type of sea cucumber??shari - 4-26-2011 at 02:15 PM
that was my first thought...sea cucumber but they are so watery and runny and this looks more solid.choyero - 4-26-2011 at 02:20 PM
I was only joking about the tasting part.
The other questions are descriptive of the item in question.
It looks like a sea sponge to me.
Did you squeeze it?BajaLori - 4-26-2011 at 02:29 PM
I thought sea cucumber also, but I have seen those before, not on the beach but scuba diving. I didn't want to poke it to much because it seemed like
it might be alive. And besides if it was an alien pod that might not be pretty! lol I love to beachcomb and I love the fact that everytime we are
down there we see different things depending on the time of year etc.
Here are a couple more questions. We see these piles all the time and am wondering what makes these?
[Edited on 4-26-2011 by BajaLori]BajaLori - 4-26-2011 at 02:34 PM
Sorry photo was too large. Let's try again..
UPDATE: Ok I found this. It is from a lugworm or sand worm.
[Edited on 4-26-2011 by BajaLori]
BajaLori - 4-26-2011 at 02:37 PM
And what creature makes this? See this all the time just not sure what causes it.
Ken Bondy - 4-26-2011 at 03:30 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by BajaLori
one more.
I've seen and photographed a lot of sea cucumbers and this doesn't look like any I have ever seen. That doesn't mean it isn't a sea cucumber, but I
suggest that the search for ID should continue Martyman - 4-26-2011 at 03:36 PM
It is related to starfish and sandollars because it has the penta (5 sided) symetry. An echinoderm of some sort? Maybe a desicated sea cucumber?BajaLori - 4-26-2011 at 08:06 PM
Martyman, thanks. I am still looking for something that looks like it. There was more than one so I know they are something. I will look at the
echinoderm family. Surely someone else has seen them.mcfez - 4-26-2011 at 10:04 PM
Looks more like a sea plant....sort of a like a veggie fruit ...looking at the second picture showing it's endCirio - 4-26-2011 at 10:15 PM
Pandanus (Screw Pine) seed or maybe some type of palm?David K - 4-27-2011 at 08:28 AM
No palms grow along the coast of the upper gulf and the only 'pines' near the beach are salt cedars at Nuevo Mazatlan and others planted for shade at
other campos.
I am wondering if it isn't from a dolphin or whale... like a kidney stone type of discharge?
The post reminds me of when we found whelk's eggs on Shell Island one trip and I asked what it was here on Nomad... 3 miles north of Bahia Santa
Maria...
July, 2009:
Sometimes we find things we have never seen before!
This is known as a 'Mermaid's Necklace'. They are whelk eggs. A whelk is a large sea snail.Marla Daily - 4-27-2011 at 09:52 AM
According to UCSB marine biologist, Shane Anderson:
Hard to tell for sure but my bet is = sea cucumber because the end view that shows the pentaradial or five-sided, symmetry. Some cucs are very
turgid.Mexitron - 4-27-2011 at 10:28 AM
They could be growing along the more tropical eastern parts of the SOC, however I don't think their seed looks like that.....Cirio - 4-27-2011 at 06:04 PM
Yer right Mexitron - it's not a Screw Pine seed but it reminds me very much of a Date Palm pit (seed) but it's hard to tell the size from the original
pic. I still think it's some kinda seed.BajaLori - 4-27-2011 at 06:22 PM
Cirio, It was about 4-5 inches. Kind of squishy and we found 3 one day at low tide and the next day we saw 2.
Thanks for all the ideas guys. Maybe eventually we will be able to identify it. I might be back down for Memorial Day and if so I will look again
for more.
Does anyone know what causes the little egg looking things in the sand. Referring back to the picture on the first page. Not sure if they are eggs
or what. They are pretty tiny. See those all the time.
Thanks again.David K - 4-27-2011 at 07:20 PM
Quote:
Originally posted by BajaLori
another view
[Edited on 4-26-2011 by BajaLori]
It looks closest to a Sea Hare... but not anything exactly like it in my books on the Cortez...mcfez - 4-28-2011 at 07:24 AM
If you still have it.....why dont you slice in down the middle and see if there are internal organs? Save in submerged in alcohol.Iflyfish - 4-28-2011 at 07:49 AM
Speaking of preserving in alcohol, it looks like my brain, and about the same size after a night of hard drinking.....just saying.
