Yes, tunicates are living organisms. They belong to the phylum Chordata and are marine invertebrates, commonly found in oceans worldwide. Tunicates exhibit a unique life cycle, often starting as free-swimming larvae before settling down and developing into a sessile adult form. They are known for their distinctive sac-like bodies and play important roles in marine ecosystems.
The adult forms of both tunicates and lancelets are in face sessile creatures, as they are extremely docile and they spend most of their time either asleep or on the prowl for food, but never living food.
the hawsbill and leatherback sea turtle eats tunicates
The scientific name for tunicates is Phylum Chordata, Subphylum Tunicata.
Tunicates are part of the phylum Chordata, and there are as many of 2,150 species of them. Sea stars, flatworms, and snails are some of the predators of tunicates.
chordates
Adult tunicates exhibit chordate affinities through the presence of a notochord in their larval stage, which is a defining characteristic of chordates. In larval tunicates, the notochord is prominent, along with a dorsal nerve cord and pharyngeal slits, which are features shared with other chordates. Although adult tunicates lose many of these traits and become sessile, they retain a structure called the tunic, which reflects their evolutionary connection to the chordate lineage. Overall, the larval form displays the key chordate features, while the adult form highlights the evolutionary adaptations of tunicates.
Because they have no back bone
Tunicates are invertebrates.
Cephalochordates e.g. Amphioxus ,; tunicates , acorn worms etc. are nonvertebrate chordates , they are collctively called protochordates .
No. They are both chordates, which means during embryonic development they have a notochord, the same as vertebrates. This does not persist in tunicates, but it does in lancelets (adults still have a notochord). Neither tunicates or lancelets have a backbone.
They're filter feeders
True