Description: The Herdman's sea squirt is a roundish solitary tunicate. They are usually pinkish with little white spots on them. Sometmes they are other colors like clear, tan, or orange. Since teyare solitary they have two siphons that are comonly orange or red. it you hold them they feel squishy and soft. They are not edible so don't try and eat them.
Habitat: This
tunicate is found attached to the bottom of big rocks in
the intertidal. They mostly like shady places.
Range
(include invasive, native, endemic): The
range of where this tunicate lives is unknown to us but
they are common in mos intertidal zones. Scientists think
they were probably introduced here.
Trophic
information:
The
Herdman's sea squirt eats a variety of plankton, algae,
and other small particles floating around in the water
because they are filter feeders. They are sometimes eaten
by fish and mollusks.
Safety: There are no
safety precautions because they are not harmful. Don't try
and eat it though.
Comments: It
you squeeze or touch them they might squirt out water through
one of their siphons.