echeng 0 Posted April 25, 2012 I photographed these little springy dudes being eaten by a skeleton shrimp in Lembata, Indonesia. Anyone know what they are? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leslie 0 Posted April 25, 2012 Coiled cyanobacteria. Nice catch! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JKrumsick 3 Posted April 25, 2012 This stuff is all over my photos from Lembeh! So cool to finally know what it is! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
echeng 0 Posted April 25, 2012 Thanks, Lesley! Here's a higher-res version. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Stewart L. Sy 12 Posted April 25, 2012 Finally! I had a bunch of those in images I took a while back of some pygmy seahorses in the Philippines and wondered what they were. S. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leslie 0 Posted April 25, 2012 Hey guys, you should be posting those WTF images! With all the UW experience around here it's rare that someone doesn't know the answer. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Alex_Mustard 0 Posted April 25, 2012 I have always put them down as diatom chains, rather than cyanobacteria. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Leslie 0 Posted April 25, 2012 Good point. It might be diatoms or it could be both. I did a quick web search which brought up a few diatoms in helical colonies but the majority of coiled chain images were of cyanobacteria. We won't know for sure without putting some of this stuff under a microscope. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
