Orange Sea Squirt
Scientific Name: Cnemidocarpa finmarkiensis
Category: other
Brief Description
A marine invertebrate that lives attached to various underwater surfaces, belonging to a group often called tunicates.
Characteristics
Globular or pear-shaped body with a smooth, shiny, and tough outer 'tunic'. It is notable for its vibrant orange to reddish-orange color and two distinct siphon openings used for filtering water.
Habitat
Attached to rocks, pilings, and shells in the low intertidal and subtidal zones.
When to Find It
N/A
Conservation Status
N/A
Ecological Role
Acts as a filter feeder, helping to clarify water by consuming plankton and detritus; they also provide a substrate for other small organisms.
Easily Confused With
Club Squirts (Styela clava) which are usually more elongated and brown/leathery, or Orange Colonial Ascidians which grow in flat mats rather than as distinct individual bulbs.
Observation Tips
Look in tide pools or on the undersides of docks during low tide in the Puget Sound region. Avoid touching them roughly as they are delicate and rely on their siphons for survival.
Interesting Facts
Despite their simple appearance, sea squirts are chordates, meaning they are more closely related to humans and other vertebrates than to most other marine invertebrates because their larval stage has a primitive backbone (notochord).
User Notes
Puget Sound