In 2020, mum found a number of interesting ascidians at Apollo Bay harbour. She discovered both the orange and purple variant of Botryllus Schlosseri. She found a possible Botrylloides Violaceus. She even discovered an unusual colony that was difficult to identify. A field naturalist group later visited to collect samples.
We’ve continued looking for these ascidians on subsequent visits. Covid-19 restrictions meant that we couldn’t visit Apollo Bay as often as we would have liked, so couldn’t keep an eye on this colony.
I had given up on finding any ascidian species this visit – until Seth called me over. He had found a colony under a couple of rocks that were close to each other. I didn’t think we would have much luck, as the harbor looked different this visit.
Seth also knows how to say Botrylloides now. 🙂
Other Marine Life:
Some of the below images may include botrylloides, but the photos are too poor to tell.