CreatureData

Star squirt

Botryllus schlosseri (Pallas, 1766)

Status not recordedother invertebrates

The star squirt (Botryllus schlosseri) is a species in the family Styelidae, order Stolidobranchia.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the star squirt

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 star squirt live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the star squirt as introduced in 7 countries, and flagged as invasive in 2 of them.

  1. Australiainvasive
  2. Canadainvasive
  3. Argentina
  4. Chile
  5. Mexico
  6. Portugal
  7. South Africa

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 star squirt 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 star squirt classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAscidiacea
  4. orderStolidobranchia
  5. familyStyelidae
  6. genusBotryllus
  7. SpeciesBotryllus schlosseri (Pallas, 1766)

Synonyms Alcyonium borlasii, Alcyonium schlosseri, Aplidium verrucosum, Botryllus aurolineatus, Botryllus badium, Botryllus badius, Botryllus bivittatus, Botryllus calendula, Botryllus calyculatus, Botryllus castaneus, Botryllus gascoi, Botryllus gemmeus, Botryllus gouldii, Botryllus marionis, Botryllus miniatus, Botryllus minutus, Botryllus morio, Botryllus polycyclus, Botryllus pruinosus, Botryllus rubens, Botryllus rubigo, Botryllus smaragdus, Botryllus stellatus, Botryllus violaceus, Botryllus violatinctus, Botryllus virescens

Other names and names in other languages (22)
  • Golden star tunicateEnglish
  • Star ascidianEnglish
  • Star sea squirtEnglish
  • Star tunicateEnglish
  • zřasenka středomořskáCzech
  • stor lædersøpungDanish
  • Stern-SeescheideGerman
  • Tunicado doradoSpanish
  • Ascidie étoiléeFrench
  • BotrilloItalian
  • ウスイタボヤJapanese
  • 스크로세르판멍게Korean
  • schlossersekkdyrNorwegian Bokmål
  • paarse geleikorstDutch
  • Ботриллус ШлоссераRussian
  • blomsjöpungSwedish
  • SternseescheideGerman
  • botrylle étoiléFrench
  • Ascidia fioreItalian
  • Ascidia stellaItalian
  • Ascidia stellataItalian
  • gesterde geleikorstDutch

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the star squirt

Other species in the same genus Botryllus.

CompareStar squirt vs Seaweed ascidianStar squirt vs Flat tunicateStar squirt vs Botryllus arenaceusStar squirt vs Botryllus aster

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

Is the star squirt an invasive species?

In some places. The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species flags the star squirt as invasive in 2 countries: Australia and Canada. It lists it as introduced in 7 in all.

What kind of animal is the star squirt?

The star squirt (Botryllus schlosseri) belongs to the family Styelidae in the order Stolidobranchia.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Star squirt (Botryllus schlosseri). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/star-squirt

MLA

“Star squirt (Botryllus schlosseri).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/star-squirt.

BibTeX
@misc{star_squirt_2026,
  title = {Star squirt (Botryllus schlosseri)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/star-squirt},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}