Brittle sea squirt

Appearance

Hundreds of transparent white tunicates form a colony. Colonies are massive lobed to encrusting. The common tunic is thick but delicate and gelatinous, transparent in color with a pattern of white lines converging on the siphons. The edge of these siphons is marked with small white dots. Each zoid is in the shape of an elongated sac, with 2 siphons at the top, the mouth siphon with its digestive, reproductive and heart system and the cloacal siphon. It itself secretes its tunic, composed of tunicin, 60% cellulose, which is unique in the animal kingdom since cellulose is a compound specific to plants. Like sponges, it has spicules allowing identification. Max size 20 cm.

Distribution

Central Indo-Pacific. Philippines, Indonesia, Micronesia, Australia.

Habitat

It is found on coral reefs growing on dead corals. Hanging or standing in holes or cracks or on top of coral bommies. Current-rich reefs.

Reproduction

It is a hermaphrodite. Sexual reproduction, external fertilization and in the case of a common cloacal siphon, the fertilized eggs are kept in an incubator pocket in the cloacal cavity, from where the larvae will be expelled from the colony. They are planktonic, free swimming, before settling and developing on the substrate. Asexual reproduction by budding.

Food

It feeds by filtration, planktonic microorganisms.