(Namsfjorden - Nord-Trøndelag / 9 meters / 8.16.2007)

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Tunicata

Class: Ascidiacea

Order: Phlebobranchia

Family: Corellidae

Scientific name: Corella parallelogramma

 

Norwegian: parallellogram-sekkedyr

Distribution: In Norway it is found as far north as Troms. It lives on hard substrate from the sub tidal zone and down to a few hundred meters.

Characteristics: This species is easily identified, due to the characteristic shape and transparent body. The grid of water channels, forming a large number of small parallelograms, are clearly visible. This grid is usually white, but sometimes it takes other colors, probably due to substances extracted from the filtered water (picture below). If you look closely, you can see some small orange spots around the siphons. The body may grow to a height of 5 cm and a width of 3 cm. The mouth siphon and the outlet siphon is placed close to the top. The white digestion channel and a small heart at the bottom are usually clearly visible.

All pictures: