Species Hierarchy
Kingdom ANIMAL (ANIMALIA)
Phylum TUNICATES (TUNICATA)
Class SEA SQUIRTS (ASCIDIACEA)
Common name: TUNICATE - INTERRUPTED
Scentific name: ASCIDIA INTERRUPTA

Location: LA PAZ, MEXICO

Species Info:

This lifeform is found widely in the Atlantic Ocean. This lifeform is found widely in the Pacific Ocean. This lifeform is marine and found only in salt water.

The sea squirts (Class Ascidiacea) are marine animals that siphon enormous amounts of water (compared to their size). These animals are normally attached to rocks, but a few are found in mud or sand. They range in size from a fraction of an inch up to 20 inches long. One reference notes that some species can pass 20,000 times their own mass in water in a single day. The siphon process provides the animals with both food and oxygen. The name sea squirt derives from their habit of squirting water when disturbed. Many of the species in this class form colonies that share a common tunic, while others live in a solitary manner.  The Ascidiacea are normally divided into four different orders.

The tunicates (phylum Tunicata) are a large group of marine animals. Many biologists place the tunicates in a sub-phylum of the Chordates. These animals do have a dorsal nerve cord but lack a skull or a brain. Tunicates generally are encased in a protective shell called a tunic. They have given phylum status here but this is an arbitary decision. There are about 2,000 or more species of tunicates known. The tunicates are then divided into three classes. The sea aquirts (Class Ascidiacea), the chain tunicates (Class Thaliacea), and the swimming tunicates without a tunic but including a tail (Class Larvacea).

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

 

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