Tunicates are small marine chordates that eat plankton they filter from the water. Their name is derived from a special body covering called the tunic. ONly the tadpole- shaped larvae of tunicates have a notochord and a dorsal hollow nerve chord. When most tunicate larvae mature they undergo metamorphosis and become sissile adults that grow into colonies attached to a solid surface. Both larval tunicates and adults filter feed and breed at the same time through a pharyngeal basket pierced by gill slits.
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