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Project Noah Nature School
Aplidium stellatum
Each blob or globule is a tunicate: an invertebrate animal that can be one individual or a collection of individuals that reproduce to form colonies measuring an inch or more in height. These creatures are marine filter feeders. The sacs have two tubular siphons, through which water is drawn in and expelled during feeding and respiration. The zooids extract nutrients from the water; these are the reddish-colored individuals that form a colony. You can see them in circular groups under the sac’s tunic, which varies in color, including creamy pinks, orange, green, red, lavender, deep purple and black. The colonies can become large, spreading 12 inches or more and weighing up to 10 pounds. When they die, they turn white and resemble salt pork, which led to their common name.
Huntington Beach State Park
More information and photos can be found here: http://mybeautifulworldblog.com/2015/01/...
Spotted on Jan 19, 2015
Submitted on Jan 31, 2015
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