Lobed tunicate

Cystodytes lobatus

Lobed tunicate

Cystodytes lobatus

Other Common Names
Lobed compound tunicate

Rocky Coast

Other Common Names

Lobed compound tunicate

At the Aquarium

Rocky Coast

Appearance

This tunicate grows in large mats that can extend more than 20 inches wide, and a colony may come in one of the following colors: white, pink, blue, lavender, or orange. The thickness of a mat can vary from less than 0.2 inches up to 2 inches thick. A colony can overgrow other organisms, such as barnacles and tube worms, creating ridges and knobs in the mat.

Habitat

Lower intertidal to shallow coastal waters, often attached to hard substrates such as rocks or pilings.

Diet

Filter feeds on tiny particles suspended in the water

Life History

Tunicates do not have separate sexes, and reproduction is able to occur by self-fertilization or by cross-fertilization. Bright pink embryos develop within the chamber of adult zooids and are released as tadpoles, with a body about 0.05 inches long and a tail about 0.1inches long. Their hearts can beat in reverse, something that no animal outside of tunicates are known to do. The free-swimming tadpole stage is short-lived and followed by settling and undergoing metamorphosis. A young oozoid can begin feeding 3-4 days after settling.

IUCN Status

Not Evaluated

Ecosystem & Cultural Importance

Tunicates are important to the marine waters where they live because they purify the water by absorbing metals like zinc and vanadium. Tunicates are fed on by various animals including bat stars, blue top snails, giant keyhole limpets, and the sea slug Lamellaria diegoensis. In addition, some animals live within the mat, including the sea bottle clam (Mytilimeria nuttalli) and the tunicate amphipod (Polycheria osborni).

Alaska to Baja California, Mexico

Lobed compound tunicates can be observed at low tide. When out of water, they form a slimy coating that can be seen hanging in strands as it drips off of the colony.

Tunicates are a group of around 3,000 species. They are the closest invertebrate group to vertebrates. In their larval stage, they have a notochord, which is a flexible rod, similar to a backbone, and a hollow nerve cord. Tunicates are named for their protective outer covering, called a tunic, which is made of cellulose. Some tunicates are solitary while others are compound. Compound tunicates are made up of individuals called zooids, which have specialized functions that benefit the whole community, and share a common tunic.

Citations & Other Resources

Lambert, Gretchen. inchesEarly post-metamorphic growth, budding and spicule formation in the compound ascidian Cystodytes lobatus.inches The Biological Bulletin 157.3 (1979): 464-477.
Monterey Scuba Board
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History/a>

Stanford University Seanet
The Marine Detective Blog

Lobed tunicate

Lobed tunicate

Other Common Names

At the Aquarium

Appearance

Habitat

Diet

Life History

IUCN Status

Ecosystem & Cultural Importance

Citations & Other Resources

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