White Crust (Didemnum albidum)

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White Crust Tunicate (Didemnum albidum)
Please Note: This is a wet, live, science specimen.

The White Crust Tunicate (Didemnum albidum) forms smooth, sheet-like colonies that spread over rocks, kelp, and man-made structures such as pilings, floats, and buoys. Often appearing as a soft, pale mat with a slightly rough surface, this colonial tunicate is an excellent specimen for studying benthic ecology and marine biofouling communities. It provides insight into how sessile filter feeders contribute to nutrient cycling in coastal ecosystems.

Common name: White crust tunicate
Scientific name: Didemnum albidum
Locations: Found on rocks, floats, pilings, lines, buoys, mussel beds, kelp, and sea floor
Seasonality: Available year round
Colors: Mostly white, sometimes with tan tinge
Size: 3” – 12” colonies
Collected: By hand or with a knife to peel off rocks
Quantity: Sold by the each

Uses: Ideal for aquariums, classroom study, biofouling research, and marine ecology displays.

Note: This is a live marine specimen. Natural variations in size, color, and appearance from photos should be expected. If you would like any specimen preserved, please send a request to: info@gulfofme.com.

White Crust Tunicate (Didemnum albidum)
Please Note: This is a wet, live, science specimen.

The White Crust Tunicate (Didemnum albidum) forms smooth, sheet-like colonies that spread over rocks, kelp, and man-made structures such as pilings, floats, and buoys. Often appearing as a soft, pale mat with a slightly rough surface, this colonial tunicate is an excellent specimen for studying benthic ecology and marine biofouling communities. It provides insight into how sessile filter feeders contribute to nutrient cycling in coastal ecosystems.

Common name: White crust tunicate
Scientific name: Didemnum albidum
Locations: Found on rocks, floats, pilings, lines, buoys, mussel beds, kelp, and sea floor
Seasonality: Available year round
Colors: Mostly white, sometimes with tan tinge
Size: 3” – 12” colonies
Collected: By hand or with a knife to peel off rocks
Quantity: Sold by the each

Uses: Ideal for aquariums, classroom study, biofouling research, and marine ecology displays.

Note: This is a live marine specimen. Natural variations in size, color, and appearance from photos should be expected. If you would like any specimen preserved, please send a request to: info@gulfofme.com.

This tunicate might fool you. It looks like it may be a sponge, or spilled pancake batter.

Tidepool Tim says,  “If you are tide-pooling along the Maine coast and you find what looks like a huge gob of pancake batter stuck to a ledge or rock, you have found some white crust, an invasive colonial tunicate.  These colonies are made up of hundreds of little zooids all living together.  There are a couple different species and they are thought to have come from Japan decades ago on live shellfish brought to the U.S. like golden star these animals share a tunic or covering that allows them to grow together as one large mass - all filter feeding in unison.  

Colors vary a bit, sometimes they are a bright white, tan, or even gray in color.  I have seen them growing over seaweeds, on the tops of crabs' shells, and covering up live mussels as they grow in beds. At one time it was thought that these tunicates could not tolerate our cold water temperatures in Maine but now as oceans are warming settlement is occurring in eastern, Maine where we live and collect marine life.”