it is very delicate, soft and slimy in texture. Observed lots in Nicobar islands in my last visit; Update: Either Galaxaura or Liagora; i.e., order Nemaliales. Which amongst these is very soft, silky soft, as if slimy soft tissue of an animal?
Could be some form of soft coral but reminds me more of calcareous algae
Hard to say form a image but maybe the algae Galaxaura? http://www.upsbdb.org/pdf/Souvenir2012/ch-5.pdf fig 17 p. 5, remided me of some East Atlantic species, did you dissect it?
I agree worth Trond, it looks like a species of red algae (Rhodophyta).
It looks like a red alga (Rhodophyta) to me. If it were a bryozoan, you would be able to see that it was a colony of small animals, each with its own little lophophore (maybe with a hand lens. Rhodophytes feel gritty because they deposit calcareous tufa around themselves as they photosynthesize. It fizzes when you drop dilute HCl on it - but of course it kills that part of the alga. Oh well.
It is indeed a red alga (Rhodophyta), with a sample a phycologist near you can tell you at least the genus. It is not a bryozoan, zooming the picture it becomes clear it isn't an invertebrate.
Zoobotryon verticillatum in the Mar Menor lagoon forms very large colonies, has yellowish translucid tubes. The branch pattern is also different. This is more calcified and reddish. Calcification is usually improved in warm waters and Mar Menor reach temperatures of 30ºC in summer. To be Zoobotryon it would be an adaptation to tidal pools in very warm waters... I have my doubts.
When magnified I can see small clear bubbles attached to the pink 'branches' which suggests oxygen bubbles, and thus a calcareous algae. I do not see any perforations in the "branches" which also suggests that it is algae
In the photo looks a Gorgonacea, but is not an animal, because no polyps or any other zooids are observed. I think it is an algae
I think it is a red algae. Maybe Liagora sp. or Ganonema sp. Those are very abundant in Nicobar at 2 or 3 meter deep and are very slimy.
Could you tell me is it similar to the species in this photo, which is taken in the Gulf of Antalya, Turkey. If so, I think it is a kind of species from the genus Liagora , so a red algae.
I can't see any geometric shape along branches, so I think that it is a red algae, not a bryozoan. The consistency of the thallus does not seem to be calcified so
It could be a Trichogloea reiquienii (Family:Liagoraceae) a slippery species common on shallow reefs during spring and summer in warm seas.
Zoobotryon verticillatum is already known to occur in Nicobar islands. It is considered an invasive species in many places around the world, and also some possibilites of looking like soft corals like gorgonoides.
Check out this paper for a treatise of red algae in the area: JOURNAL OF NATURAL HISTORY, 2004, 38, 3021–3057: The marine red algae of Rodrigues (Mauritius, Indian Ocean) by OLIVIER DE CLERCK et al. Should help.
not calcarious at all, and no perforations in the body. I've checked other photos and air bubbles are confirmed, so probably it's an algae. Branching is alternate, not dichotomous as mentioned for galaxaura. Having reported Galaxaura in Nicobar, i think it is Galaxaura anyway, thanks for all inputs!
looks more like an algae. There is bo presence of structures (zooids or polyps) to consider could be an animal
Yes definitely looks like a red algae Liagora - we have that here in St Helena and it looks the same as your photo. Your description of its soft slimy texture would fit with this too.
Without having examined the animal, it looks like either a Hydrozoa or Ectoprocta (Bryozoa) coloni. Did it look msomething like this on close up?:
Her is a even closer look. This animal is a Hydrozoa, Abietinaria sp., from northern Norway. It forms colonies. Close up picture (the hydrozoa is colonised by several foraminiferas):
On your picture it also resembles a calcified red alge, but if you are sure it is an invertebrate, I suggest either Hydrozoa or Ectoprocta. Have seen large colonies of Ectoprocta in the Barents Sea that resembles the coloni in your picture.
I am sure it is not a gorgonian. It seems an algae I seen in Ilhas Selvagens like Gellidium sp.
Here is another photo. Brown algae at 4'O Clk is Padina. Singled to Nemaliales order; now question is is it Liagora or Galaxaura. Which amongst these is very soft, silky soft, as if slimy soft tissue of an animal?
The surface of the object in this new view appears to have small openings on its surface. At this point I would not rule out the possibility of a colonial hydrozoan, an ectoproct or an entoproct
May be it is something from Bryozoans (Ctenostomatida) of Alcyonidiidae group?
you are confusing everyone by asking for an invertebrate identification. If Rhodophycea (Nemaliales), which it most likely is, than it is an alga, not animal.
I also agree this is a coralline algae, Many red algae show calcification throughout their thallus and grow as an encrusting layer over rocks, your species looks like Lithothrix sp
I think it is a red algae. Liagora sp. Those are very abundant in Nicobar at 2 or 3 meter deep and are very slimy.
Yes, this certainly is a red alga, Liagora sp. or related.
Willem
It is NOT a coralline alga - much too soft, although in Liagora almost always some calcarereous material is present in the thallus.
Well, as a phycologist, I am sure it is a liagora-like red alga
This is a red algae, not invertebrate, i think this is Liagora genus of family Helminthocladiaceae