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Story: Marine animals without backbones

Sea tulips

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Sea tulips

Commonly found growing alongside bladder kelp around the South Island and Chatham Islands, these stalked sea squirts are known as sea tulips or kāeo (Boltenia pachydermatina). Their wrinkly, purple bodies are attached to a long tough stalk. Large specimens can be 1 metre long.

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Department of Conservation

Reference: 10050224

by K. R. Grange

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How to cite this page

Dennis Gordon and Maggy Wassilieff, Marine animals without backbones – Tunicates: sea squirts, salps and appendicularians, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/photograph/5869/sea-tulips (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Dennis Gordon and Maggy Wassilieff, published 2 March 2009.