Aplidium brevilarvacium Kott, 1963

Kott, Patricia, 2006, Observations on non-didemnid ascidians from Australian waters (1), Journal of Natural History 40 (3 - 4), pp. 169-234 : 203

Aplidium brevilarvacium Kott, 1963

( Figure 10E )

Aplidium brevilarvaceum Kott 1963, p 113 ; 1992a, p 527 and synonymy.

Distribution

Previously recorded (see Kott 1992a): Western Australia (Point Peron, Cape Naturaliste); South Australia (northern Great Australian Bight). New record: South Australia (Kangaroo I., 14–17 m, SAM E3284). Kott (1992a) reports a specimen from Heron I., but this may be incorrect as all other records are from temperate waters.

Description

Sandy cylindrical stalks, branching once or twice along their length, have terminal translucent heads that slightly overlap the stalks. Sand is crowded in and around the stalks but is sparse in and on the heads.

Zooids open all around the head and they appear to be arranged in double rows, a row along each side of a longitudinal common cloacal canal. Common cloacal canals converge to a terminal common cloacal aperture. Thoraces and abdomina are about the same, relatively short, length. Stomachs have about 10 vertical parallel stomach folds.

Remarks

The long, branched stalks are characteristic of colonies of this species, and these stalks, short terminal heads and long vertical double rows of zooids resemble colonies of Distaplia turboensis Kott, 2004 or Distaplia australiensis Brewin, 1953 , both of which can be readily distinguished by generic characters. The species has been reported on only four previous occasions. The newly recorded specimen conforms to previous descriptions of this species.

Figures

Figure 10. In situ images of: (A) Synoicum sacculum (SAM E2864); (B) Synoicum sacculum (SAM E3288); (C) Synoicum sphinctorum (SAM E3283); (D) Aplidium abditum (SAM E3268); (E) Aplidium brevilarvacium (SAM E3284); (F) Aplidium clivosum (SAM E3390); (G) Ascidia scaevola (SAM E2871); (H) Botryllus stewartensis (SAM E3289).