Marine Life · Sea Squirts · South Africa

Elephant ear (Gynandrocarpa placenta)

A fresh specimen of elephant ear washed ashore. Unknown location, South Africa (2021). A large colonial ascidian that consists of a large fleshy disk, often cream or pink in colour, on a thin short brown wrinkled stalk. Zooids robust arranged on the outer layer of the test and opening separately on the surface of the… Continue reading Elephant ear (Gynandrocarpa placenta)

Marine Life · Sea Squirts · South Africa

Red bait (Pyura stolonifera)

Detached red bait found on the rocky shores. Unknown location, South Africa (2021). A very large and well-known solitary ascidian with a thick opaque-white test covered in a wrinkled dark-brown skin. The flesh, which can be pink to bright-red, is commonly used by anglers as bait, hence the common name. About 15 cm high, but… Continue reading Red bait (Pyura stolonifera)

Brittlestars · Echinoderms · Marine Life

Banded brittlestar (Ophiarachnella capensis)

Banded brittlestar under a boulder. Fishhoek, Western Cape (2020) - iNaturalist Disc granular, arms strikingly patterned with alternating dark grey and pink (or red) bands. Very short spines flank the arms. The lower surface of the disc has a single long genital slit on either side of each arm. About 45 mm. Lives under boulders… Continue reading Banded brittlestar (Ophiarachnella capensis)