Sea Pork [Aplidium californicum]
Description
Divers often notice this colonial tunicate as thick, lumpy, pale-to-tan “pork-like” growths attached to rocks or other hard surfaces. Up close, it can look like a soft mass with small openings where water is drawn in and expelled. It’s a great example of how sessile animals can still create complex, textured underwater habitats.
Where To See Sea Pork
No sighting locations recorded yet.
Taxonomy
| Phylum |
Fish, Sharks & Rays (plus Sea Turtles & Whales)
Chordata
|
|---|---|
| Class |
Sea Squirts
Ascidiacea
|
| Order |
Aplousobranch Tunicates (Simple Colonial Sea Squirts)
Aplousobranchia
|
| Family |
Colonial Tunicates
Polyclinidae
|
| Genus |
Sea Pork
Aplidium
|