Many of the structural animals on the reef, like sponges and soft corals look a lot like plants. But things get even more confusing when animals are given plant names.
This morning, on our dive I found 4 different lettuce sea slugs. Each was between one and two inches long. Their name is derived from the lettuce-like appearance of the skin ruffles on the back. They absorb oxygen through the skin ruffles. They have a pair of tentacles that resemble rolled paper. They graze on algae. The photos were taken at depths of 25 to 40 feet.
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| This lettuce sea slug is heading to the upper right. |
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| This one is heading to the upper left. Its tentacles are visible just above the center of the photo. |
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| This one is heading to the lower right. |
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| This one is heading to the lower left, the tail end is visible to the upper right. |
Another group of salad-vegetable-named invertebrates is the sea cucumbers. We regularly see them, in sandy areas around the reef.
Today's example is the donkey dung sea cucumber. Not too appetizing a name. This sea cucumber was about 10 inches long. The photo was taken at a depth of about 20 feet.
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| Donkey dung sea cucumber. |
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