While lounging in my hammock yesterday afternoon a small, round blob in the water caught my eye. Thinking it was some kind of plastic debris, I hopped up to grab it.

Upon close inspection, however, I realized the blob was most definitely not trash. In fact, it was alive and changing shape! I took a few photos but then realized that it probably needed to be immersed.

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Since I wasn’t sure about the creature’s defense mechanisms, I used a leaf to gently move it into a nearby coconut shell. After I filled the shell with water, I felt better about stealing a few more moments of the shape-shifting blob’s time.

My homework last night was to identify my gooey little friend. With a bit of searching, I stumbled across the helpful sea slug forum (yes, folks, there is a sea slug forum).

Turns out it was a Shaggy Sea Hare (Bursatella leachii), a marine gastropod known to hang out in shallow seagrass beds. I see something new every time I’m by the sea!