Range: Intertidal coasts of Peru and Chile

Habitat: Marine coastline up to 230 feet (70m) deep

Size: About the size of a human palm

Diet: Plankton and detritus

Threats: Sea stars, sea otters, marine snails, and humans

Lifespan: One year

Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files we’re discussing the living rock. Make no mistake, this animal might look like nothing more than a barnacle covered rock, but its insides reveal something alive. Cut it open and it appears to be organs beneath a layer of skin. This is a piure. It’s a tunicate, otherwise known as a sea squirt, and it’s edible.

Sea squirts get their common name because some species squirt sea water when disturbed. They have two siphons, one for collecting water and one for expelling water and wastes. The piure is no exception. These animals are filter feeders. They collect plankton and detritus from the surrounding sea water along a membrane of sticky mucus inside their body. Generally speaking, these animals live about a year in the wild.

The living rock can be found in the southeastern Pacific in intertidal waters of Peru and Chile. They live from the surface to about 230 feet (70m) below the waves. They take up residence on hard substrate like rocks, ship hulls, and boat docks. These animals congregate in large colonies that number in the thousands, however, they don’t need to. A piure can live successfully all on its own.

Many animals need a member of the opposite sex to reproduce, but not the living rock. These animals begin life as males and develop female characteristics at maturity. When ready to breed, they release both sperm and eggs into the water column at the same time. An individual piure can successfully fertilize its own eggs. These hatch into larvae that spend a short time drifting through the water before settling on the seafloor. A larva will spend 24 hours at most to find its forever spot. These animals are sessile, so, like bone worms, they don’t move around once they’ve found a place to live. Sometimes they settle alone, other times they settle with other members of their species. Though they can self-fertilize, these animals have shown preference to breed with other members of their species, which is probably why they’re often found in groups.

This animal is also known as the blood rock because of its bright red flesh. Fascinatingly, their blood is actually clear. Predators to the piure include sea otters, sea stars, marine snails. Humans also eat the blood rock! An individual piure can approximately fit in the palm of your hand. They must be cut open to reveal the flesh inside. Humans interacting with these creatures, as well as their ability to settle onto boats, may be a way they’ve dispersed along the western coast of South America. Since their larvae have only a day to settle, they can’t move far on their own, even with strong ocean currents helping them along; so humans have likely increased this animal’s range. Piure may be eaten raw or cooked. They’re described as tasting like sea urchins but with a less delicate taste. They are considered metallic in flavor and some go so far as to call them “soapy” but those who eat them seem to enjoy them!

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