Here is a strange little critter that @tony_wills spotted and it is a first for MT (Mātaki Taiao which is the Maori for iNatNZ) . So how many of us can spot others? Apparently they are maybe 5 to 10mm long. In the surf near and amongst seaweed, lowtide.

If you check out the obs you will also find animations of how this little critter moves :)

Happy searching! :D

We have our very first obs for Sea Vase - Ciona intestinalis by @predomalpha and was found in Auckland so something new to look out for :)

Here is the original obs

Something new to keep an eye out for - a delicate trumpet or ice cream cone :) So far we have 2 obs, one from the Houhora Harbour and another one from the Whangateau harbour which are both on the east coast of northland, but that of course does not mean that they are not lurking further south or on the west coast, it just means that an intrepid sea hunter has not found them there yet LOL

From the family taxon page:
Pectinariidae, or the trumpet worms or ice cream cone worms, are a family of marine polychaete worms that build tubes using grains of sand roughly resembling ice cream cones or trumpets. These structures can be up to 5 centimetres (2 in) long.

Happy hunting!