INDO-PACIFIC Coral Reef
sea squirts & salps

The 'vertebrates' that look like invertebrates across the Indo-Pacific tropical coral reefs...

Phylum Chordata

Class Ascidiacea

Order Stolidobranchia

Family Styelidae

Polycarpa aurata. 'Gilded/Oxheart/Goldmouth/Ink Spot/ Yellow & Purple Ascidian/Sea Squirt'. One of the most obvious and commonly seen sea squirts on coral reefs (Rajah Ampat, Indonesia).

Order/Sub-order Aplousobranchia

Family Didemnidae

Didemnum molle, 'Green Sea Squirt' (Pink Beach, Indonesia). A commonly seen sea squirt on coral reefs throughout the Indo-Pacific. It appears soft and squishy and swishes around in reaction to water movements. Another common sea squirt thay look similar is called Atriolum robustum. Or maybe I have these the wrong way around?

Class Thaliacea, 'Salps'

Family Salpidae

A salp chain, (Panagsama, Philippines).

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Thinking of travelling again after everything settles down? The first expedition I am booked to work on after the virus is Micronesia, New Guinea & Indonesia in 2021 with Silversea. Meanwhile I am giving a lecture on the Sunshine Coast (Australia) on the "Sounds of suburban south-east Queensland".