Named after the tasty Aussie cake, or the habit that it has of collecting algae that is drifting by. You can see the fine tentacles that stick out to grab the algae so it can be eaten; they are quite different to the white spines. All of the T. gratilla at Camp Cove today were holding little "hats" of algae. Cute!
This subtidal aggregation of T.g.elatensis demonstrates the high color variablity within this subspecies. Coloration of spines, tube-feet and pedicellaria ranges between white and black with no dominance of any color combination. to protect against high light intensity and camouflage they carry pebbles and sea-grass leaves.
