What is this strange sea creature?

January 22, 2009 9:09 AM

Can anyone identify this mysterious sea creature? My sister saw four of them swimming at the surface in Boca Raton, FL. They were undulating like squids; when contracted they look like black slugs, when stretched they look like that fellow in the photo. An entire crowd formed to watch, as they were so very weird.
posted by miffed to science & nature (7 comments total)

Sea hare?
posted by MrMoonPie at 9:24 AM on January 22

Yeah, looks like a hare to me.
posted by lemuria at 9:55 AM on January 22

I think I prefer "sea pickle" (per your sister's caption).
posted by cranberrymonger at 10:27 AM on January 22

so glad you posted this... i'm pretty sure i ate one of these guys in korea recently. not tasty to me, but my korean pal loves them. you have to dip it in a 'special sauce' because if you don't your face goes numb. i didn't believe them when they told me that; i learned they weren't joking the fun way.

i've been wondering what the hell that thing was i ate and as i only had a korean name for it (summarily forgotten) i couldn't look it up when i got home. now i know. oh, for the record, the preparation for it in korea goes by the name (romanized) NAKJI, pronounced 'nock-jee.' that means they bring the critter to you alive and you eat it raw. fun!
posted by artof.mulata at 3:48 PM on January 22

MrMoonPie, you nailed it! We even found this video after reading these responses. Although I must admit, I also prefer Sea Pickle.
posted by miffed at 8:51 PM on January 22

artof.mulata:

Nakji is small octopus. And "san-nakji" is live small octopus. Very delicious.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 8:54 PM on January 22

i just want to state that joseph knows far more about korea than i do. many times he has corrected me and i am a better person for it. please excuse my ignorance; i am just an enthusiastic and hebephrenic mammal. he, however, is a knowledge base.

in apolgentia,
artof.mulata
posted by artof.mulata at 8:13 PM on January 25