Aplidium elegans | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Subphylum: | Tunicata |
Class: | Ascidiacea |
Order: | Aplousobranchia |
Family: | Polyclinidae |
Genus: | Aplidium |
Species: | A. elegans
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Binomial name | |
Aplidium elegans (Giard, 1872)
[1]
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Synonyms | |
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Aplidium elegans, the sea-strawberry, is a species of colonial sea squirt, a tunicate that is a benthic invertebrate in the family Polyclinidae and class Ascidiacea. [2] It is native to shallow waters in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. [2] It is also found in between France and the United Kingdom. [2]
Aplidium elegans form firm, flattened globular masses, that look like pink cushions from 3 to 4 cm long. [3] The color is striking, with large white papillae around the inhalant siphons of the zooids and deep pink coloration of the colony. [3] The arrangement of the zooids in the colony gives a meandering pattern, with cloacal canals between zooids. [3] The zooids are embedded in a common test and grouped around sinuous, irregular cloacal canals. [2] The oral siphons are slightly prominent and bordered of eight small white lobes. [2] Colonial ascidians, like other benthic invertebrates show great morphological variability in terms of shape, size and color in response to both genetic characteristics and local environmental conditions. [4]
Aplidium elegans is found in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and the English Channel. [4] The colonies are found on rocks in waters 5 meters to 20 meters deep. [4] Also can be found on moderately exposed rocky sites, usually with moderate tidal streams, attached to rocks. [3] The colony is around 50mm broad and 15mm thick. [3]
Aplidium elegans colony is made up of a couple different parts. [4] The zooid is the individual animal, and in a colony, there are multiple zooids. [4] The colony has a test or tunica which is a thick layer secreted by the mantle, containing cellulose and protecting the animal. [4] Every zooid has an oral siphon, which is an opening through which water is drawn into the ascidian to collect nutrients. [4] Each individual also has a cloaca through which water is expelled. [4]
Aplidium elegans | |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Subphylum: | Tunicata |
Class: | Ascidiacea |
Order: | Aplousobranchia |
Family: | Polyclinidae |
Genus: | Aplidium |
Species: | A. elegans
|
Binomial name | |
Aplidium elegans (Giard, 1872)
[1]
| |
Synonyms | |
|
Aplidium elegans, the sea-strawberry, is a species of colonial sea squirt, a tunicate that is a benthic invertebrate in the family Polyclinidae and class Ascidiacea. [2] It is native to shallow waters in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. [2] It is also found in between France and the United Kingdom. [2]
Aplidium elegans form firm, flattened globular masses, that look like pink cushions from 3 to 4 cm long. [3] The color is striking, with large white papillae around the inhalant siphons of the zooids and deep pink coloration of the colony. [3] The arrangement of the zooids in the colony gives a meandering pattern, with cloacal canals between zooids. [3] The zooids are embedded in a common test and grouped around sinuous, irregular cloacal canals. [2] The oral siphons are slightly prominent and bordered of eight small white lobes. [2] Colonial ascidians, like other benthic invertebrates show great morphological variability in terms of shape, size and color in response to both genetic characteristics and local environmental conditions. [4]
Aplidium elegans is found in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, and the English Channel. [4] The colonies are found on rocks in waters 5 meters to 20 meters deep. [4] Also can be found on moderately exposed rocky sites, usually with moderate tidal streams, attached to rocks. [3] The colony is around 50mm broad and 15mm thick. [3]
Aplidium elegans colony is made up of a couple different parts. [4] The zooid is the individual animal, and in a colony, there are multiple zooids. [4] The colony has a test or tunica which is a thick layer secreted by the mantle, containing cellulose and protecting the animal. [4] Every zooid has an oral siphon, which is an opening through which water is drawn into the ascidian to collect nutrients. [4] Each individual also has a cloaca through which water is expelled. [4]