Scientific Name: Herdmania sp
Classification
Phylum: Chordata -Dorsal tubular nerve cord, gill-slits and notochord present.
Subphylum: Tunicata -Marine. Body covered by a thick test. Notochord present only in the larval tail.
Habit and Habitat: Solitary, sedentary and sometimes living as commensal in association with gastropod shells, especially over Xaneus pyruns (Shankh) and Xaneus angulatus (Conch).
Characteristics
- It is more or less like a purse or large oval potato, measuring 6.5 to n.8 cm in length and 5.2 to 6.9 cm in breadth.
- Body dark brown, reddish-brown or yellowish-brown and regionated into the soft body proper and foot.
- Foot large, dirty, rough, leathery and with several foreign objects. It forms one-third of the body.
Video
Ascidian (tunicate), Herdmania grandis. Source: YouTube, Museums Victoria
References
- Practical zoology vertebrates by S.S Lal
- The life of invertebrates by J.Z Young
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