Clavelina moluccensis
Encyclopedia
Clavelina moluccensis, common name bluebell tunicate, blue bell tunicate, or Blue Sea Squirt,
is a species of tunicate
(sea squirt), in the genus Clavelina (the "little bottles"). Like all ascidians
, these sessile
animals are filter feeder
s.
s contain characteristic dark blue patches and spots that are always visible.
, Western Pacific, Indonesia
, Papua New Guinea
, Mariana Islands
, Philippines
, Singapore
, and Malaysia.
or other hard substrates, normally under overhangs.
is a species of tunicate
Tunicate
Tunicates, also known as urochordates, are members of the subphylum Tunicata, previously known as Urochordata, a group of underwater saclike filter feeders with incurrent and excurrent siphons that is classified within the phylum Chordata. While most tunicates live on the ocean floor, others such...
(sea squirt), in the genus Clavelina (the "little bottles"). Like all ascidians
Ascidiacea
Ascidiacea is a class in the Tunicata subphylum of sac-like marine invertebrate filter feeders. Ascidians are characterized by a tough outer "tunic" made of the polysaccharide tunicin, as compared to other tunicates which are less rigid.Ascidians are found all over the world, usually in shallow...
, these sessile
Sessility (zoology)
In zoology, sessility is a characteristic of animals which are not able to move about. They are usually permanently attached to a solid substrate of some kind, such as a part of a plant or dead tree trunk, a rock, or the hull of a ship in the case of barnacles. Corals lay down their own...
animals are filter feeder
Filter feeder
Filter feeders are animals that feed by straining suspended matter and food particles from water, typically by passing the water over a specialized filtering structure. Some animals that use this method of feeding are clams, krill, sponges, baleen whales, and many fish and some sharks. Some birds,...
s.
Description
This species is 0.5-2.5 cm long, and light to medium blue in colour. The top of the zooidZooid
A zooid or zoöid is a single animal that is part of a colonial animal. The zooids can either be directly connected by tissue or share a common exoskeleton...
s contain characteristic dark blue patches and spots that are always visible.
Distribution
This species is found in the waters around AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Western Pacific, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
, Mariana Islands
Mariana Islands
The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east...
, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, and Malaysia.
Habitat
This species grows in clusters attached to dead coralCoral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
or other hard substrates, normally under overhangs.
