Yellow zooanthids on a glass sponge

Yellow zooanthids on a glass sponge. Note that, though highly conspicuous under full light, they blend in with the sponge at blue wavelengths. These animals hav e been quite interesting because they also have bright green fluorescence and very strong green bioluminescence. They also stung our hands when we touched them, suggesting that some of these signals may be warnings of toxicity.

Photo Category: Ocean exploration - Invertebrates
Photo Location: Gulf of Mexico
Photo Date: 2005 August 30