PHYLUM: Chordata
CLASS: Urochordata
SPECIES: Pyura haustor
COMMON NAME: None
Pyura is one of the many tunicates that can be found in the Monterey area. Tunicates come in three levels of oganization: solitary, colonial, and compound. Pyura is one of the solitary varieties, meaning that what you're seeing here is a single individual.
The body is roughly spherical, 2-3 inches across, and covered with small encrusting organisms, leaving only the pink siphons exposed. If the animal is disturbed, the siphons will retract and close in a distinctive x-pattern.
Tunicates are chordates, just like fish, reptiles, and, yes, you and me. As larvae, they resemble tadpoles, with all the good chordate characteristics: a notochord, gill slits, post-anal tail. As they metamorphose into adults, however, they settle on the bottom and take up a permanent sessile life style. They obtain food by pumping water in one siphon, through the body, and out the other siphon, filtering food particles out in the process.
Pyura is usually found in crevices on hard substrates. It ranges from Alaska to Southern California. It lives anywhere from the low intertidal zone down to 200m.