Corellidae

Family: Corellidae

Group: Marine Invertebrate, Species

Scientific Name	Common Name	Summary
Chelyosoma productum	Disc-top tunicate	This species has "flaps" which seal off the siphons when closed, and at a microscopic level can be identified by the spiral rows of stigmata. It is hard when pulled out of the water, and differs from other ascidians by having a flat disc on top, which is organized in about sixteen plates (plus the siphon plates), as opposed to the twelve plates of Chelyosoma columbianum, which is described from British Columbia and the Western Pacific (Sanamyan 1998). Also, C. columbianum has thin margins around the disk-top, and around each plate.
Corella inflata	Brooding transparent tunicate	This species is common, from the intertidal to the shallow subtidal areas. It was lumped with Transparent tunicate (Corella willmeriana) until 1981, and the two species are very similar. C. inflata differs from C willmeriana by the fact that it broods its larvae internally, by the greatly enlarged atrial chamber that provides a place for the larvae to be kept, and by its generally shallower range of habitats.
Corella willmeriana	Transparent tunicate	This species is very similar to the previously synonymous Brooding transparent tunicate (Corella inflata), which is apparently the more common and shallower species of the two in our region. Unlike C. inflata, however, Corella willmeriana does not brood its young, and for that reason has a smaller atrial chamber.