Clavelina robusta

Clavelina robusta is a species of tunicate (sea squirt), in the genus Clavelina (the "little bottles"). Like all ascidians, these sessile animals are filter feeders.

Clavelina robusta
Clavelina robusta (black and white in colour shown at the lower left of the image)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Tunicata
Class:	Ascidiacea
Order:	Aplousobranchia
Family:	Clavelinidae
Genus:	Clavelina
Species:	C. robusta
Binomial name
Clavelina robusta (Kott, 1990)[1]

Description

This species frequently occurs in dense clusters. It has large 2–4 cm cylindrical zooids. They generally range from black to dark blue to gray in colour, with individual zooids having fluorescent green, yellow, or white rings around both siphons.^[2] The external cover has a firm basal matrix, and is somewhat transparent and soft.^[3]

Distribution

Clavelina robusta is found, often in large colonies,^[4] in the Western Pacific, Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Japan, and the Solomon Islands.^[2]