Sea vase

Ciona intestinalis

Other invertebrates
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth2–32 m
Water temperature5–29 °C
Best monthsJuly, August, and September
How commonCommon

Photo credit: (c) Bernard Picton, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Bernard Picton · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Ciona intestinalis is an ascidian, a tunicate with very soft tunic. Its Latin name literally means "pillar of intestines", referring to the fact that its body is a soft, translucent column-like structure, resembling a mass of intestines sprouting from a rock. It is a globally distributed cosmopolitan species: this species has been introduced to various parts of the world and is considered as an invasive species.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Ciona intestinalis”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

Loading the map

Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 167 records
February: 148 records
March: 320 records
April: 514 records
May: 988 records
June: 1,144 records
July: 2,116 records
August: 2,623 records
September: 1,815 records
October: 850 records
November: 335 records
December: 135 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 2–32 m · Deepest record: 1,595.8 m

0–10 m: 2,523 records
10–20 m: 2,107 records
20–30 m: 916 records
30–40 m: 170 records
40–50 m: 100 records
50–60 m: 67 records
60–70 m: 36 records
70–80 m: 20 records
80–90 m: 19 records
90–100 m: 10 records
100–110 m: 12 records
110+ m: 258 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 5–29 °C

4–6 °C: 16 records
6–8 °C: 2 records
8–10 °C: 122 records
10–12 °C: 559 records
12–14 °C: 100 records
14–16 °C: 13 records
16–18 °C: 13 records
18–20 °C: 13 records
20–22 °C: 2 records
22–24 °C: 0 records
24–26 °C: 0 records
26–28 °C: 0 records
28–30 °C: 2 records

Photos

(c) Micha Baum, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Rory Wilson, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Jamie O'Neill, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Steven Farquhar, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Steven Farquhar, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Sea vase, Yellow sea squirt, sea vase, Sea Vase, Transparent Ascidian, Vase Tunicate, yellow sea squirt, Yellow Sea Squirt, Yellow Sea-squirt, Tube Sea-squirt, Sea Vase

Names in 4 more languages

German: gelbe Seescheide, Schlauch-Ascidie, Schlauchseescheide, Schlauch-Seescheide
Spanish: Ascidia
French: ascidie jaune, Ascidie jaune, Cione, Cione instestinale, cione, Cione intestinale
Japanese: カタユウレイボヤ

Other scientific names: Ascidia canina, Ascidia corrugata, Ascidia diaphanea, Ascidia intestinalis, Ascidia membranosa, Ascidia ocellata, Ascidia pulchella, Ascidia tenella, Ascidia virens, Ascidia virescens, Ascidia viridiscens, Ciona canina, Ciona diaphanea, Ciona ocellata, Ciona pulchella, Ciona sociabilis, Ciona tenella, Phallusia intestinalis, Tethyum sociabile

Similar species

Pacific transparent sea squirt
Ciona savignyi

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
13,919 open-data records from 1868 to 2025.
Species data updated November 1, 2026.

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