It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean where it lives on the seabed at depths down to about 450 metres (1,500 ft).

Polycarpa pomaria is a solitary tunicate with a conical, ovoid or globular form, growing to a length of about 7 centimetres (2.8 in).

It occurs on rocks and other hard surfaces and its depth range is from the subtidal zone down to about 450 metres (1,500 ft).

[4] Polycarpa pomaria is viviparous and a few eggs at a time are fertilised within the atrium (body cavity) with sperm that is drawn in with the feeding current.

The tadpole larvae lie quiescent as they develop inside the atrium but when they are expelled, they suddenly become active and very soon undergo metamorphosis into juveniles.