Thalia orientalis, Tokioka, 1937

Franco, P., Dahms, H. - U., Lo, W. - T. & Hwang, J. - S., 2017, Pelagic tunicates in the China Seas, Journal of Natural History 51 (15 - 16), pp. 917-936 : 930

Thalia orientalis

Morphology

Solitary zooids are up to 7 mm long, excluding posterior projections. Tests often with eight longitudinal rows of echinae on the surface. Long posterior projections, but lateral ones are absent and mid-ventral ones are strongly developed. Atrial palps are bifurcate. MI to MII are not contiguous, MII to MIII and MIV to MV are strongly fused dorsally. Total number of muscular fibres is 30–36, including the intermediate muscle (authors’ personal observations; Marine Species Identification Portal 2017).

Biogeography

The species is found in the Mediterranean Sea and China Seas (WoRMS Editorial Board 2017).