Can you ID this??

Hi guys. I have been going crazy trying to ID this thing. About a week ago I purchased a small Zoa colony on a rock, and it had what I thought was just part of the rock. Well earlier today I noticed this brown growth was open. I reached in to check it out and it all closed up. It is a hard growth and opens along the ridges. Any help would be greatly appreciated as I have been unsuccessful to ID myself.

 

Welcome to 3reef.

I have no clue. Can you pick up the piece and get a closer shot of the mysterious item.

You saw it close or felt it close?

There are no soft structures, it's hard in it's entirety?

Very cool, love a mystery.

 

I am unsure if I will be able to get a better picture, if I touch the rock at all it snaps closed, but I will try to get a better shot in the morning. When I noticed it had changed in appearance, I touched it and it all pulled closed. The outside is hard like a shell. Looking into the seams when it's open, it looks like it is lined with muscle or something of the sort and some holes which I think may be for filter feeding.

 

That looks like a tunicate. Poke it and see if it closes up.

 

It looks like a sponge but responds like a tunicate, but it's got a hard surface.

Hmmm.

 

Actually here is a few pictures I just took. The first is of another part of it on the same rock.

 

Just to clarify, I'm referring to the brown patch in the middle.

 

We posted at the same time and I didn't see where you said it closes when you touch it. That means its a tunicate. Thee are some crazy varieties out there. I need to put together a bunch of pics I have of them. You'd swear they werent the same thing. I had one like yours, but it was black/gray.

 

A tunicate? I have never seen one without tubes. Interesting. Well thanks everyone for your help!

 

Thanks for the images, helped immensely.