Bluebell tunicate

Clavelina moluccensis · The bluebell tunicate is a small blue sea squirt that lives in waters around Australia, the Western Pacific and Southeast Asia.

Also called Blue bell tunicate, Blue sea squirt.

Bluebell tunicate
Photo: Nhobgood, CC BY-SA 3.0
Bluebell tunicate
Photo: Bernard DUPONT from FRANCE, CC BY-SA 2.0
Bluebell tunicate
Photo: Kai Squires, CC BY 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassAscidiacea
OrderAplousobranchia
FamilyClavelinidae
GenusClavelina
SpeciesClavelina moluccensis

Where it lives

Reefs of the western Pacific and Australia, from Indonesia and the Philippines to the Mariana Islands.

Fun facts

  • Each bluebell tunicate is tiny, measuring only about 0.5 to 2.5 cm long.
  • Bluebell tunicates are light to medium blue, with dark blue patches and spots on top that are always visible.
  • Bluebell tunicates grow in clusters, attached to dead coral or other hard surfaces.
  • The bluebell tunicate belongs to a group whose genus name, Clavelina, means "little bottles".

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).