Tunicates

Tunicates are members in the subphylum Tunicata. These sessile marine invertebrates can be found in all depths of the ocean. This species has also been around for years. The tunicates have about 3,000 species. Some common names they have for some of the species are sea squirts, tunicates, sea pork, sea livers, or sea tulips. You will see some tunicates living a solitary life, but there are some species that will replicate using the method of reproduction, budding. These individuals that are now in a colony are called “zooids”. Tunicates have a barrel-shaped body covered in a sort of material that's like cellulose that helps protect them from predators. About all the adult tunicates are suspension feeders. They will filter water in through their inhalant siphon, taking in plankton as food and then using their exhalant siphon to expel the water where they only have the food to digest (one of the slides shows how their bodies look). Fun fact about the tunicates is how some of the species got their names. Sea tulips are called this because of how colorful and slender they look. The sea squirts are named this because they will contract their bodies sharply and squirt out water when threatened. And the sea livers and sea porks got their name because of how their dead colonies look, they look like pieces of meat!

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