Clavelina moluccensis

Clavelina moluccensis, common name bluebell tunicate, blue bell tunicate, or blue sea squirt [2] is a species of tunicate (sea squirt), in the genus Clavelina (the "little bottles"). Like all ascidians, these sessile animals are filter feeders.

Clavelina moluccensis
A colony of Clavelina molluccensis, showing the characteristic row of three blue dots between the siphons
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Tunicata
Class: Ascidiacea
Order: Aplousobranchia
Family: Clavelinidae
Genus: Clavelina
Species:
C. moluccensis
Binomial name
Clavelina moluccensis
(Sluiter, 1904)[1]
Synonyms

Clavelina molluccensis (Sluiter, 1904) (misspelling in literature)
Podoclavella moluccensis Sluiter, 1904

Description

This species is 0.5-2.5 cm long, and light to medium blue in colour. The top of the zooids contain characteristic dark blue patches and spots that are always visible.[3]

Distribution

This species is found in the waters around Australia,[4] Western Pacific, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Mariana Islands,[2] Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia.[2]

Habitat

This species grows in clusters attached to dead coral[5] or other hard substrates, normally under overhangs.[2]

References
  1. WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Clavelina moluccensis (Sluiter, 1904)
  2. View Clavelina moluccensis
  3. Allen, Gerald (2001), Marine Life of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, Tuttle Publishing and Periplus (Singapore), p. 62
  4. Data Use Agreement – GBIF Portal
  5. Allen, Gerald, (2000), Marine Life of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, Tuttle Publishing, pg. 62


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