Brain Ascidian

Sycozoa cerebriformis

Sycozoa cerebriformis - Brain Ascidian
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Size: Colony size to 15 cm

Distribution: All SA continental waters

Habitat: Rocky reef and jetty pylons

Depth: Subtidal to 10+ metres

Sycozoa cerebriformis - Brain Ascidian
Sycozoa cerebriformis - Brain Ascidian
Sycozoa cerebriformis - Brain Ascidian
Sycozoa cerebriformis - Brain Ascidian

This distinctive compound ascidian can be found on jetty pylons and rocky reef in almost any colour, including yellow, red, white, brown, purple or orange. It is most easily recognised by its growth form, where the lobes, attached to the substrate by a basal stem, curl around on themselves, until the largest colonies resemble a brain. Zooids are located in straight rows along the face of the lobes on both sides, each row terminating at the colony edge with a large cloacal aperture. This species is unlikely to be mistaken for another, except maybe the youngest of colonies, where the lobe has yet to start to curl and is fan-shaped.