Just came back from 3 days on Grand Bahama. When I poked sea hares, they
squirted purple ink.

What is the function of the ink? Is it a noxious substance? Is it to
camouflage? Is it to startle?

Another burning weekend question: I checked all the gorgonians I could, but
only  found one flamingo's tongue, Cyphoma gibbosum. (I put it back, since I
already have one). I have yet to find a single C. macgintyi or signatum or
even Simnia acicularis. Are these staying on particular anthozoans or are
they not very selective? Are there websites that depict some of these
colonial creatures?

Here's another question: what makes Chicoreus florifer dilectus the
subspecies of C. florifer and not the other way around?

David Kirsh
Durham, NC