Unidentified Flying Object?
December 14, 2002
From: Bryan Dieter
Hello.
I recently saw a small animal during a dive in Puget Sound that nobody in the dive group had seen before. The dive site was next to the ferry dock in Muckleteo, about twenty miles north of Seattle. The critter's shape closely resembles this pteropod but it had a very rich color. The "wing-like" part of its body was a milky white and the thicker "nucleus" was a soft pink color. We saw it at a fairly shallow depth (maybe 15 feet) and it was about five feet off of the cobble/rocky bottom. When we saw it the "wings" were undulating but there didn't seem to be any direction to its swimming. I assume that it was a sea slug of some sort. During the dive we saw a number of other more common slugs. I am just trying to get a better idea of what the critter was. Any suggestions?
Submersibly,
Bryan Dieter
heinekenbryan@yahoo.com
Dear Bryan,
This is indeed a 'flying', or at least a 'swimming' sea slug. It is a pteropod, Corolla spectabilis, one of a group of sea slugs which spend their whole lives in the plankton. This is a nice photo as it shows the main features of the animal. Have a look at the Fact Sheet where I have labelled up a copy of your photo and described some of its most interesting features.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
