Aplidium falklandicum Millar, 1960

Sanamyan, Karen, Schories, Dirk & Sanamyan, Nadya, 2010, New records of aplousobranch ascidians from Central Chile, Zootaxa 2537, pp. 58-68 : 59-60

Aplidium falklandicum Millar, 1960

( Figures 2A , 5A,B )

Aplidium falklandicum Millar, 1960: 33 ; 1970: 100; Monniot & Monniot, 1983: 15 (synonymy).

Material examined: Chile, 4. region: Punta de Choros, Rhodymenia, 10m, two colonies; La gruta, 25m, one colony.

Remarks. Examined specimens have solid oval colonies with a rather small area of attachment. Zooids are in small circular or oval systems ( Figure 5A ). The test is soft, gelatinous, transparent and colourless; the living specimens are whitish or colourless. Thread-like zooids are up to 10 mm long. Stomach wall has five longitudinal folds. According to Millar (1960) the number of rows of stigmata may vary from 12 to 23, a much wider range than occur in most Aplidium species. In the present specimens zooids have 12–14 rows of stigmata. Monniot & Monniot (1983) reported that the number of rows of stigmata is variable but rarely attain 16. Unusual white "thoracic triangles" described for this species by Millar (1960: 35) were not found in the present material. Other features of zooid agree well with the original description, and larva ( Figure 2A ) is identical to those illustrated by Millar (1960).

Figures

FIGURE 2. A, Aplidium falklandicum, larva. B, C, Aplidiopsis chilensis n. sp., zooids.

FIGURE 5. A, B, Aplidium falklandicum. C, D, Aplidium fuegiense. E, F, Aplidium peruvianum.