Solitary Salp

The other night we did an exploratory night dive many miles offshore of

Oahu. This image of a salp is the result. Your comments are appreciated.

Interesting shot.  How did you take it?  How big is it?  What is it?  Alan

This is a salp (approx. and inch long), which is a type of tunicate (chordate but without a backbone) that lives a planktonic lifestyle.  The dive is designed to observe lots of gelatinous critters such as this one by throwing yourself into very deep water at night.  The tricky part is using the viewfinder to follow tiny, clear organisms that are floating in a completely different way than you.  You end up getting one in focus for every 40 or so that you take.  I'll put up some more in the next few days.