Ciona intestinalis

Ciona intestinalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Tunicata
Class:	Ascidiacea
Order:	Phlebobranchia
Family:	Cionidae
Genus:	Ciona
Species:	C. intestinalis
Binomial name
	Ciona intestinalis; (Linnaeus, 1767)
Synonyms
	List Tethyum sociabile Gunnerus, 1765; Ciona sociabilis (Gunnerus, 1765); Ascidia intestinalis Linnaeus, 1767; Phallusia intestinalis (Linnaeus, 1767); Ascidia canina Mueller, 1776; Ascidia corrugata Müller, 1776; Ciona canina (Mueller, 1776); Ascidia virens Fabricius, 1779; Ascidia viridiscens Brugière, 1792; Ascidia membranosa Renier, 1807; Ascidia virescens Pennant, 1812; Ascidia diaphanea Quoy & Gaimard, 1834; Ciona diaphanea (Quoy & Gaimard, 1834); Ascidia ocellata Agassiz, 1850; Ciona ocellata (Agassiz, 1850); Ascidia tenella Stimpson, 1852; Ciona tenella (Stimpson, 1852); Ascidia pulchella Alder, 1863; Ciona pulchella (Alder, 1863); ;

Ciona intestinalis (sometimes known by the common name of vase tunicate) is an ascidian (sea squirt), a tunicate with very soft tunic. Its Latin name literally means "pillar of intestines", referring to the fact that its body is a soft, translucent column-like structure, resembling a mass of intestines sprouting from a rock. It is a globally distributed cosmopolitan species: this species has been introduced to various parts of the world and is considered as an invasive species.

Since Linnaeus described the species, Ciona intestinalis has been used as a model species of an invertebrate chordate in developmental biology and genomics.