One
of the most eye-catching sights on the rocky shore, this mind-boggling
species resembling a collection of beautiful pressed flowers is actually
a colony of individual animals!
About
This
colony of sea squirts looks like a bunch of beautiful flower petals
stuck next to each other to form a mosaic of stars. It takes 3-12
individuals to produce one of the star-shaped patterns. You will usually
find these colonies on the underside of rocks in rockpools or sometimes
on kelp fronds.How to identify
Star
ascidian have a dark, flat, gelatinous structure (tunic) with
petal/star patterning covering the tunic. They often vary in colour from
clear to yellow to light brown stars.Distribution
Found all around Britain and IrelandDid you know?
Individual star ascidians
have their own intake siphon to allow nutrients and oxygen to flow into
their cells, but they share an outflow opening in the centre of the
star!
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