page_title: Pyura herdmani
section_title: Description
hierarchical_section_title: Pyura herdmani / Description
caption_attribution_description: English: Photograph Pyura herdmani sand
context_page_description: Pyura herdmani, one of two southern African species of "red bait", is a sessile ascidian, or sea squirt, that lives in coastal waters attached to rocks or artificial structures. Sea squirts are named for their habit of squirting a stream of water from their exhalant siphons when touched at low tide.
context_section_description: Pyura herdmani is readily identifiable by the pointed papillae on its tunic. However, the tunic can be highly variable in terms of its morphology, which seems to depend largely on habitat type (which includes intertidal and subtidal areas, rocky and sandy substrata, sheltered and exposed sites). When growing on sandy bottoms, P. herdmani can grow a large peduncle to anchor itself into the sand.
caption: Large pedunculated aggregate characteristic of Pyura herdmani living on sandy bottoms; Langebaan Lagoon (Photo: Marc Rius)
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