CreatureData

Chain tunicate

Botrylloides violaceus Oka, 1927

Status not recordedother invertebrates

The chain tunicate (Botrylloides violaceus) is a species in the family Styelidae, order Stolidobranchia.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the chain tunicate

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the chain tunicate live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the chain tunicate as introduced in 11 countries, and flagged as invasive in 4 of them.

  1. Canadainvasive
  2. Franceinvasive
  3. Portugalinvasive
  4. United Kingdominvasive
  5. Australia
  6. Belgium
  7. Ireland
  8. Italy
  9. Mexico
  10. Norway
  11. United States

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

Is the chain tunicate endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the chain tunicate classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAscidiacea
  4. orderStolidobranchia
  5. familyStyelidae
  6. genusBotrylloides
  7. SpeciesBotrylloides violaceus Oka, 1927

Synonyms Botrylloides aurantium, Botrylloides carnosum, Botrylloides lateritium, Botrylloides violaceum, Botryllus aurantius

Other names and names in other languages (16)
  • Colonial sea squirtEnglish
  • Colonial tunicateEnglish
  • Lined colonial tunicateEnglish
  • Orange sheath tunicateEnglish
  • Violet tunicateEnglish
  • Tunicado marino asiáticoSpanish
  • botrylle violetFrench
  • Ascidia incrostante violaceaItalian
  • イタボヤJapanese
  • 보라판멍게Korean
  • slingerzakpijpDutch
  • Ascídia-correntePortuguese
  • Ботрилоидес фиолетовыйRussian
  • Ascidie orange du JaponFrench
  • Gekleurde slingerzakpijpDutch
  • gewone slingerzakpijpDutch

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the chain tunicate

Other species in the same genus Botrylloides.

Botrylloid

Botrylloides leachii

StyelidaeNo free photo yet

CompareChain tunicate vs BotrylloidChain tunicate vs California tunicateChain tunicate vs Black synascidiaChain tunicate vs Botrylloides alacranensis

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

Is the chain tunicate an invasive species?

In some places. The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species flags the chain tunicate as invasive in 4 countries: Canada, France, Portugal and United Kingdom. It lists it as introduced in 11 in all.

What kind of animal is the chain tunicate?

The chain tunicate (Botrylloides violaceus) belongs to the family Styelidae in the order Stolidobranchia.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-13. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Chain tunicate (Botrylloides violaceus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/chain-tunicate

MLA

“Chain tunicate (Botrylloides violaceus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/chain-tunicate.

BibTeX
@misc{chain_tunicate_2026,
  title = {Chain tunicate (Botrylloides violaceus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/chain-tunicate},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-13}
}