Have you seen this creature on the beach? The common name for it is ________.
A. Sea pork
B. Sea brains
C. Sea liver
D. Sea mutton
Sea Pork and Sea Liver
The correct answer is A and C, the sea pork (Aplidium stellatum, =Amaroucium stellatum) and sea liver (Eudistoma hepaticum). See below for a larger, more detailed image. Pictured at left is an image of the Siesta Key Beach in Sarasota, FL. I found a couple of these animals washed up here last year. But I was not the only one who noticed them.
I also got a message from a reader who was wondering what he found on a trip to North Captiva Island. He described them as…
having the shape of…well, sort of like a breast implant type shape. They were solid and dense, somewhat opaque, generally an orange-ish color, and had a “give” to them when poked (sort of like a solid rubber ball might have). They ranged in size from smaller than a deck of playing cards to larger than a dinner plate, but they all had a somewhat rounded, water-droplet-on-glass-profile to them. Dozens to hundreds of them washed up on the beach following a strong storm with onshore winds that occurred Dec 10-11. Along with them were many tubeworm casings and sponge pieces.
Without a picture, it is hard to be sure what he saw. However, from the description, I suspect he did not find a discarded shipment of breast implants or fake novelty prizes. Instead, it was probably some sea pork or sea liver. Both are types of colonial sea squirts that live in the sub-tidal areas of the southeast United States. Despite their common names, neither are considered edible by humans. However, some animals do feed on them, including tulip snails, stingrays and sea turtles. The actual animals, or zooids, are quite small, but they grow together surrounded by a tough, rubbery matrix that is called a tunic (hence the name tunicates). Some species of tunicates are larger and solitary. However the sea pork and sea liver are called compound tunicates because their tunics join together in a globular mass that can grow larger than a dinner plate. When alive, sea pork zooids are usually red or orange and surrounded by a pinkish tunic. Sea liver zooids are usually dark with purplish pigments in their tunics. They also have a more rubbery or slimy appearance than sea pork. Storm surges can dislodge both types of colonies and send them tumbling into the surf. The wave action and sun bleaches out the masses, giving them an appearance like salted pork.
What The Shell is That? is a recurring series on this blog, featuring some of the flotsam and jetsam, flora and fauna that wash up on the beaches of southwest Florida. I am a recreational taxonomist and amateur naturalist. As such, all identifications are speculative unless noted otherwise. If you have additional information on the organisms included here, or have questions about critters you’ve found on the beach, please contact me or leave a comment below.
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Found an odd creature on the shores of Wildwood Crest NJ this week, especially in the late afternoon/evening. Doesn’t quite fit a description of a crab but cannot match it to any photos I found online. I can submit a photo. It’s dark brown about 2-3″ long with two appendages on one end, and two appendages on the other end. One end the appendages touch like pinchers, and the other end they just stick straight out.