Urochordata

Tunicates or Sea Squirts

Sea Squirts are filter-feeding animals that are abundant in all oceans, attached to firm surfaces or drifting as zooplankton (salps).  They range from single animals, colonies of individuals, to compound forms within a common tunic.  Larvae possess a notochord therefore they are related to vertebrates.  They may be distinguished from sponges because of the tough outer skin or tunic.  Most are difficult to identify beyond family or genus.

 

HAWAII

Compound Tunicates

Didemnum spp.

Moku Manu, Oahu, 60 feet

Kaupo Bay, Oahu, 5 feet

Found on shaded surfaces exposed to current or surge.

Botryllus spp.

Makapu'u tidepool, Oahu

 

Makapu'u tidepool, Oahu

Ft. Kamehemeha, Oahu

Found on and under stones in shallow water including harbors.  Zooids are less than 1/2 inch.

Eudistoma sp.

Makapu'u, Oahu, 10 feet

 

Makapu'u, Oahu, 10 feet

Makapu'u, Oahu, 10 feet

Found under ledges exposed to wave action.

Diazona spp.

Makapu'u tidepool, Oahu

Found under stones in shallow water.

Not yet identified

Makapu'u tidepool, Oahu

Makapu'u tidepool, Oahu

Various species found under stones in shallow water.

Colonial Tunicates

Makapu'u tidepool, Oahu

 

Makapu'u tidepool, Oahu

Ft. Kamehameha, Oahu, 3 feet

Ft. Kamehameha, Oahu, 3 feet

Various species found under stones in shallow water.

Solitary Tunicates

Herdmania momus

Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, 3 feet

Worldwide in warm seas.  Introduced to Hawaii.

 


NORTHEAST PACIFIC

Cnemidocarpa fismarkiensis

Ogden Point, Victoria, Canada, 50 feet

Found under ledges at scuba depths.  Alaska to Central California.

 

 

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