Culeolus herdmani Sluiter, 1904

Exbodi, Françoise Monniot, 2022, Additional records of bathyal ascidians (Tunicata) from the New Caledonia region, Zootaxa 5195 (3), pp. 201-223 : 218-219

Culeolus herdmani Sluiter, 1904

Figure 16

Monniot C. & Monniot F. 1991 and synonymy. Monniot F. & Monniot C. 2003. Monniot F. 2021.

Stations: SPANBIOS: CP 5146; CP 5147; CP 5150; CP 5178; CP 5185; CP 5189; CP 5200; CP 5217; CP 5219; CP 5231; CP 5232; CP 5267; DW 5230; DW 5236. Stations EXBODI: CP 3786; CP 3805; CP 3810; CP 3824; CP 3833; CP 3836; CP 3839; DW 3785.

Very common in the western tropical Pacific region C. herdmani was found as deep as 1700m depth (Monniot C. & Monniot F. 1991) but is particularly abundant between 400–500 m. The body shape is always the same. The head is naked with small scattered buttons on the tunic surface and a ring of papillae at some distance from the atrial aperture. The oral siphon is close to the curved origin of the peduncle. The atrial opening is at mid distance of the head length. The peduncle is narrow, stiff and long, with a longitudinal groove and is totally encrusted with sediment. The internal anatomy is constant even in small specimens. There are four branchial folds on each side and a long open gut loop ( Fig. 16A ) ending in a multilobed anus. There are two gonads on each side with a characteristic disposition ( Fig. 16A,B ) and one endocarp on each body side. The musculature covers the whole body ( Fig. 16C,D ) with large fibres particularly dense around the siphon apertures .

Figures

FIGURE 16. Culeolus herdmani. A, body ventrally opened. B, gonads on the right side. C, musculature on the right side. D, musculature on the left side. Scale bars = 1cm.