The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsGuess the mystery object
Clue 1: Photographed within 10kms of my home
Clue 2: Alive
redwitch
(14,947 posts)Or some alien life form.
canetoad
(17,186 posts)But not terrestrial. I've seen two others before this, but either dead or dying.
Beakybird
(3,333 posts)If you've only seen a few your whole life then you're obviously food deprived.
canetoad
(17,186 posts)Look like a raspberry to you?
TwistOneUp
(1,020 posts)Looks like a buncha almonds arranged in some artful presentation... Did Martha Stewart make this? lol
canetoad
(17,186 posts)It's alive.
Donkees
(31,454 posts)Donkees
(31,454 posts)Those look like variants of the mystery object.
Donkees
(31,454 posts)Squinch
(51,014 posts)GeorgeGist
(25,323 posts)Sedona
(3,769 posts)zanana1
(6,129 posts)Louis1895
(768 posts)Is that its mouth in the center?
Poisonous?
canetoad
(17,186 posts)I'll post full answer at end of thread. Your prize is in the mail.
jpak
(41,759 posts)Generic Brad
(14,275 posts)It's reminiscent of pictures I have seen that were taken at the cellular level.
canetoad
(17,186 posts)Just a waterproof, point and shoot digital.
Fla Dem
(23,753 posts)10km is about 6.5 miles. Your bio says you live on the coast. So coral about 6.5 miles from your house.
But too cold for coral here.
canetoad
(17,186 posts)Louis1895.
The object is Phlyctenactis tuberculosa - The Wandering or Swimming Anemone. I found this one under about 30cm (1 foot) of water at the edge of a rock pool. It is about the size of a softball. The come in various colours and shapes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phlyctenactis_tuberculosa
Donkees
(31,454 posts)canetoad
(17,186 posts)The first two I found - they were in pretty bad shape, decaying and falling apart. I thought they may have been some kind of eggs. This one was healthy and very beautiful and is probably on its way to New Zealand by now.
Louis1895
(768 posts)It is beautiful!
Are those other anemones around it?
canetoad
(17,186 posts)Or algae. The coast near here is a marine park because of the extensive rocky shelves and reefs, so there is a heap of interesting things living there. In summer I spend hours with a waterproof camera on a selfie stick, shoving it into dark recesses in rock pools to photograph things that folk don't normally see.