Aplidium accarense
Tunicates
The tunicate Aplidium accarense (Millar 1953) belongs to a group of colonial tunicates, forming fleshy colonies, commonly referred to as 'Sea Pork or 'Sea Potato''. It was described from from the Atlantic coast, near Accra, Ghana and later found near Senegal and the Cape Verde Islands. Populations in the Mediterranean, Brazil and Venezuela are considered to be introduced, In 2019, it was found on fouling plates and genetically identified from southern California. Hull fouling is likeliest vector of introduction.
Photo by Rosana Rocha, Boca del Toro, Panama, undated