Cactus Squirt (Boltenia echinata)

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Common name: cactus sea squirt

Scientific name:  Boltenia echinata

Locations:  undersides of large rocks and within kelp holdfasts in high current areas

Seasonality:  available year round

Colors:  peachy - red with fuzzy white spikes

Size:  1/4"  - 1/2"

Collected:  by hand, knife to detach them from rocks

Quantity:  sold by the each

Common name: cactus sea squirt

Scientific name:  Boltenia echinata

Locations:  undersides of large rocks and within kelp holdfasts in high current areas

Seasonality:  available year round

Colors:  peachy - red with fuzzy white spikes

Size:  1/4"  - 1/2"

Collected:  by hand, knife to detach them from rocks

Quantity:  sold by the each

The cactus squirt is toward the bottom left. It's a reddish color. It's fastened right onto another tunicate species, white crust.

Tidepool Tim says,  "If we ever have a Tidepool Tim's sea creature cartoon, this guy will be the star of the show for certain.  It may be a benthic bore - slowly filter feeding its life away - but they are fuzzy and cute. These sea squirts are so covered in spines or fuzz that for years, I hardly ever took notice of them as I was collecting.  Finally one day my hand slipped and I happened to hit one - out squirted the most delicate little charge of water - aha! That's a sea squirt there. Cactus squirts are not very common in our area, but in some places they are easy to find.”


 

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