Sea squirt - sea squirt

Japanese: ホヤ(海鞘) - ホヤ（英語表記）sea‐squirt

A general term for protochordata belonging to the Ascidiacea order of the class Urochordata. All are marine and attach to various objects such as reefs, the surfaces of shells, the bottoms of ships, and various underwater equipment. There are about 2,300 species worldwide and about 300 in Japan, but apart from the edible Halocynthia mahoganyi, almost none are useful to human life, and many of them cause harm by attaching to themselves. There are two theories about the origin of the name "squirt": one is that the shape of the individual specimens resembles an old hoya (a cover that covers the top of incense burners and hand warmers), and the other is that the way they attach to rocks resembles mistletoe (also known as sea squirt).

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

尾索綱ホヤ目Ascidiaceaに属する原索動物の総称。すべて海産で，岩礁，貝殻の表面，船底，海中の諸器材などいろいろなものに付着する。世界から約2300種，日本には約300種あるが，食用にするマボヤ以外はほとんど人間生活に有用なものはなく，むしろ付着によって被害を与えるものが多い。ホヤの語源は個体の形が昔の火屋（ほや）(香炉や手あぶりなどの上を覆うふた)に似ているからという説と，岩などに付着している姿がヤドリギ(異名をホヤという)に似ているからという説とがある。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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