We were exploring Marengo at low tide when I found this awesome looking ascidian under a ledge. I was so excited when I found it; I hadn’t seen anything like it before.
I had a quick look at The Marine Life of South Australia and thought that it may be Botrylloides perspicuus. In reality, I had no idea. Trying to identify ascidians based on a superficial glance at photos rarely works.
I put it on Facebook. Fortunately, there were brilliant minds who were able to help. It was suggested that is was a Synoicum. One person suggested that it was “a lot like Synoicum sacculum, but not the same brilliant red.” Another pointed out that Synoicum bowerbanki had been found at Blanket Bay.
According to Wikipedia, Synoicuma is a genus of colonial sea squirts, tunicates in the family Polyclinidae.
It turns out that is was quite unusual to find an ascidian at low tide. A local normally finds a lot of them in the reefs near Marengo. I’ve yet to explore here, as I’m not a strong swimmer. We tried to return later to get better photos but couldn’t find the spot.
