Unidentified Marine Organism?

I've encountered an unfamiliar marine organism on the beach or in the water. How can I find out what it is?

Please e-mail us a description (location, size, shape, color, behavior, etc.) and a digital photo if you have one, to [[vimspr,UFOs at VIMS]]. You can aid our efforts at identification by including a measuring stick or other object for scale. For pictures of fish, it helps to spread the fins, as the number of rays and fin position are often diagnostic characters. Also please let us know if we can share your image with others whose curiosity may have been abducted by a UFO.

The images in the album below illustrate some of the more common "UFOs" (unidentified fishy organisms) submitted to VIMS for identification (click the arrows to move through the album).