Ascidians

There are 2 classes of tunicates in the White sea: sea squirts (Ascidia) and larvaceans (Appendicularia). I took photos of only three common White sea ascidian species.

Styela rustica. This species looks like a short carrot with two siphons. Styela is usually covered with dirt and some algae. But the next species is always clean and very beautiful:

Halocynthia pyriformis. This big sea squirt lives rather deep in the sea in big accumulations.

These transparent tubes are actually the siphons of Molgula griffithsii. These sea squirts are clean and transparent when young, but they become dirt when they mature. The adult molgulas are absolutely invisible on the bottom.

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