Long-Stalked Sea Squirt (Styela montereyensis)

Long-stalked sea squirt (photo credit: Biodiversity of the Central Coast)

Description: This solitary tunicate is named the long-stalked sea squirt because of its long stalk and elongated tunic. The tunic is smooth with many ridges along its body. The body of this tunicate ranges from yellow to dark red or brown. They can get to about 30 cm tall!

Habitat: Long-stalked sea squirts range from British Columbia, Canada to Baja California, Mexico. They are found attached to solid substrate from the low intertidal zone down to about 30 m.

Diet: The two bumps on top of the tunicate are the siphons used to intake/expel water in order to filter feed.

Tide Pool Tidbits: 

  • Their heart is long and tubular shaped!

  • This is the largest solitary tunicate found in the Pacific Northwest.

References: The New Beachcomber’s Guide to the Pacific Northwest by J Duane Sept, Walla Walla University