Habitat
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Fairly Common, firmly attached to solid substrata in calm to very rough waters. In the Pacific Northwest it is mainly found in the outer Straits and open coast, but rarely in inland waters.
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Distribution
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Geographical Range: Vancouver Island to Baja, California.
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Habitat
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Depth Range: Low intertidal zone to about 30m
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Comprehensive Description
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Body elongate and cylindrical, supported on a thinner stalk about equal to body in length. The overall length occasionally exceeding 25 cm in calm habitats but more often 8-15 cm in exposed sites. Siphons close together at distal end; the oral siphon recurved and the atrial siphon straight. Tough, leathery tunic with prominent longitudinal ridges and grooves running the entire length of animal otherwise relatively smooth. Yellow to dark red brown, often fouled with debris and other organisms in harbors but clean in wave swept areas.
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Look Alikes
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How to Distinguish from Similar Species: Can be easily confused with Styela clava. It can be distinguished by the facts that Styela clava has the following tunic usually bearing conspicuous tubercles, tunic often with irregular longitudinal wrinkles but never with regular ridges and grooves along entire body representing thick and thin regions of test, and both siphons straight, the oral siphon not recurved toward base of stalk.
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Comprehensive Description
provided by Invertebrates of the Salish Sea
Biology/Natural History: Although they just look like slimy sacs, tunicates or sea squirts, are more closely related to humans than any other invertebrate group. This is because larval tunicates have several chordate structures - including a nerve chord and a notochord. These are later lost in most adult forms. Two openings are found on the tunicate: the buccal siphon and the atrial siphon. Sea squirts got their name because a gentle squeeze will cause water to shoot out of their atrial siphon! The sedentary adult forms can either be solitary or colonial. A cool fact about tunicates is that they have a long, tubular heart that contracts in two directions! Breeding and larval settlement occur in the summer. Study of the developing eggs shows that the inner follicle of the oocyte provides the test cells that are enclosed with the ovum inside the chorion. Both eggs and sperm are shed to the sea. In natural situations the larvae settle best on surfaces that have been underwater at least several months. In metamorphosing larvae the tail collapses, as is characteristic in members of the suborder Stolidobranchia, by contracting of the notochord itself, not by contraction of the caudal epidermis This species may store vanadium in its tunic. On the open coasts of Washington and Vancouver Island this species often has the copepod Pygdelphys aquilonaris in its branchial sac.
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Styela montereyensis
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Styela montereyensis, also called the stalked tunicate, Monterey stalked tunicate, and the long-stalked sea squirt[2] is a solitary[3] ascidian tunicate.[1] It has a cylindrical, yellow to dark reddish-brown body and a thin trunk that anchors it to rocks. It is found in subtidal areas of the western coast of North America from Vancouver Island to Baja California.
Taxonomy
The species was first described by American malacologist William Healey Dall in 1871 as Cynthia montereyensis, and later (1889) by Jesse Walter Fewkes as Clavelinopsis rubra. William E. Ritter placed it in Styela in 1893.[4]
Description
Styela montereyensis is yellow to dark red brown in colour. It is a solitary species, growing, often in loose groups.[3] It normally grows to about 8–15 cm (3–6 in) in exposed sites. However, in the more rare, calm habitats, it can grow up to about 25 cm (10 in). The body of Styela montereyensis is elongate and cylindrical, and is attached to a thinner stalk approximately the same length as the body. Its siphons are close together at the distal end, with its oral siphon pointing to the side or downward. The atrial siphon points straight upward. It has a leathery tunic displaying noticeable longitudinal grooves and ridges that extend down the entire length of the body.[3]
This species is commonly fouled with foreign matter and small organisms such as algae and hydroids[3] when occurring in harbors, but remains clean in wave-swept habitats. The feeding mechanism of S. montereyensis uses the force generated from underwater current to push water through a feeding apparatus. The flexible stem allows the organism to have its position adjusted passively and the orientation of the siphons optimized by the current, and so foraging is a relatively low-energy activity.[5] Their maximum lifespan is not known with certainty, but one individual was known to have lived for three years and attained a length of 23 cm (9.1 in).[6]
Distribution
This species occurs from Vancouver Island and Hope Island south to Baja California.[6]
Habitat
Styela montereyensis lives in the low intertidal zone up to approximately 30 m (100 ft) in depth. It is a fairly common species within its range, and can be found firmly attached to substrata, pilings, jetties, and on subtidal reefs[3] in waters ranging from calm to extremely rough.[6]
Specimens in the Pacific Northwest rarely occur in inland waters, but are normally found in the outer straits and open coast.[2] Populations on the west coasts of Vancouver Island and Washington harbour the crustacean copepod species Pygodelphys aquilonaris in their branchial sacs.[6]
References
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Styela montereyensis: Brief Summary
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Styela montereyensis, also called the stalked tunicate, Monterey stalked tunicate, and the long-stalked sea squirt is a solitary ascidian tunicate. It has a cylindrical, yellow to dark reddish-brown body and a thin trunk that anchors it to rocks. It is found in subtidal areas of the western coast of North America from Vancouver Island to Baja California.
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