Sea creature or toy?

[Caroling]

Pushed in the surf, a slimy 3" long bag. Is it a sea creature or a plastic toy? If creature, what is it? Video taken at about 8 a.m. on 2007-07-28, between One Seagrove and Eastern Lake on the Gulf of Mexico beach. The "thing" is about 3 inches long. See it here:

http://wholeo.net/Trips/Travel/Florida/srb/movies/seaThing.html

(Requires Flash 9 to view. The page has a link to get it.) I tried uploading this movie to youTube three times. It came out the wrong proportion each time so I gave up and just put it on my website.

 

[florida girl]

Looks like a blow fish to me.

 

[Ocean Lover]

First thought, puffer fish. Is a puffer fish the same as a blowfish? I think maybe.

http://www.saltwater-fish-tanks.com/gg_data/images/7/angry-puffer-fish-2.jpg

 

[Smiling JOe]

Puffer Fish


I saw a couple of them washed up onto the beach after the storms in 2005.

 

[Chickpea]

Looks amazing but not sure I would want to see one whilst swimming!

 

[Smiling JOe]

Looks amazing but not sure I would want to see one whilst swimming!

I think they are about the cutest fish I've ever seen. They do look like a toy.

 

[30A Skunkape]

You couldn't have voodoo zombies without them;-)

 

[Caroling]

Wikipedia says they are toxic. Since they are cute and look like a toy, I'm surprised I haven't heard warnings about not touching them. But maybe they aren't that common here. I'm still not convinced that what I saw wasn't a very good reproduction of a fish. But I wasn't about to pick it up to investigate. Thanks for all the replies!

 

[Chickpea]

I think they are about the cutest fish I've ever seen. They do look like a toy.

SJ: a softie like you liking a prickly pointy fish????? But I must say that pic you attached is kinda cute!

 

[Will B]

Wikipedia says they are toxic.

The toxins have to be ingested. There isn't any danger related to touching them. Japanese Sushi Chefs use puffers to create a type of Sashimi called Fugu. Due to the trace amounts of the toxin in the muscle the Fugu is said to make your lips tingle.

All I can say is I'm not eating it...

Consider me a font of useless knowledge!