Sea Tulip
Chordata – Ascidiacea
Distribution:
Sea tulips are named for their long stalks and rounded heads. Although considered a solitary (single) ascidian, a cluster of them can look like a bunch of tulips (flowers) attached to rocky reef or seagrass. Filtering the water for food and nutrients, these animals play an important role in our marine environment, removing particles as small as bacteria.
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Did you know?
Ascidians have free-swimming larvae, which help them to disperse throughout the ocean. However, they do not feed during this time and must find a place to settle within a few hours, or they die.
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In This Section
- Chordates – Animals with backbones
- Invertebrates – Animals without backbones
- Abalone
- Acorn barnacle
- Baler shell
- Blue button sea jelly
- Bluebottle
- Bryozoan
- Bubbler crabs and sand balls
- Chiton
- Cone shell
- Coral
- Cowry shell
- Crab
- Cuttlebone
- Goose barnacle
- Hermit crabs
- Horned ghost crab (Manburr)
- Limpet
- Mud crab
- Mussel
- Periwinkle
- Pipi
- Ram’s horn shell
- Razor clam
- Sand dollars
- Scallop
- Sea hare
- Sea hares
- Sea jelly
- Sea star
- Sea urchin
- Silver-lip pearl oyster
- Sponge
- Tube worm
- Turban snail
- Violet snail
- Marine Pests
- Seagrasses and Algae
- Unusual Finds