Colonial Ascidians

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Tunicata

Class: Ascidiacea

Several different species of adult Colonial Ascidians. 

Below are tadpoles fertilized around 15:00 4/23/13. Spawned from adults above. Spawning Colonial Ascidians release sperm and ova. Pictures below taken around 18:30 same day. They attach to a substrate and metamorphose rapidly. In the first picture the notochord is clearly visible.

-Monica Erviti