Ascidia panamensis Bonnet & Rocha, 2011

A. Palomino-Alvarez, Lilian, Moreira Rocha, Rosana & Simoes, Nuno, 2019, Checklist of ascidians (Chordata, Tunicata) from the southern Gulf of Mexico, ZooKeys 832, pp. 1-33 : 1

Ascidia panamensis Bonnet & Rocha, 2011 Fig. 2A

Material examined.

CAGoM-0023, Mad 1, 9 m, 20-04-2015, leg. L. Palomino-Alvarez; CAGoM-0182, Arc 3, 3 m, 30-10-2015, leg. L. Palomino-Alvarez; CAGoM-0187, CAGoM-00189, Arc 6, 2 m, 30-10-2015, leg. L. Palomino-Alvarez; CAGoM-0190, CAGoM-0191, Arc 8, 2 m, 31-10-2015, leg. L. Palomino-Alvarez.

Remarks.

These specimens are of uniformly dark coloration inside the siphons, in contrast to specimens from Panama which have white lines between the siphon lobes ( Bonnet and Rocha 2011a). Mexican specimens are also smaller with conical papillae on the tunic in the area of the oral siphon, the shape of the dorsal tubercle is variable, and the anus is smooth. All specimens were found under rocks, two to three specimens per rock, in association with Polycarpa cartilaginea (Sluiter, 1898) and Corella minuta Traustedt, 1882. Symbiosis was also noted with palaemonid crustaceans ( Ascidonia miserabilis (Holthuis, 1951)) living in the pharynx of some of the larger specimens.

Global distribution.

Mexico (as described here) and Panamá ( Bonnet and Rocha 2011a).