Can anybody tell us what the purple "arms" are?

[PATMWILLIAMS]

We took this photo of nudis mating, but are curious about the bright purple "arms " apparently sticking out the gills of the left hand nudi. Can anybody tell us what they are?

Colours have lost a bit in the JPG translation so arms not quite so bright now!

Thanks

Pat and Paul

[Kevin Lee]

Hi Pat,
Thanks for your post. The purple "arms" are likely egg sacs of a parasitic copepod. This is not uncommon. Here is another example:

http://www.diverkevin.com/Asia-Diving/R ... 1312_Vzz6j

Best regards,

K:-)

[PATMWILLIAMS]

Fascinating. Thanks Kevin.

Regards

Pat

[scottg]

wow, great example of parasitic behavior... thanks for posting Pat!