CIONIDAE, Lahille, 1887

Mead, A., Carlton, J. T., Griffiths, C. L. & Rius, M., 2011, Introduced and cryptogenic marine and estuarine species of South Africa, Journal of Natural History 45 (39 - 40), pp. 2463-2524 : 2504

Family CIONIDAE

Ciona intestinalis (Linnaeus, 1767) Introduced

This North Atlantic solitary ascidian has a yellow semi-transparent tunic and can reach a body size greater than 100 mm. It attaches to harbour ropes, kelp or mussel farm rafts in sheltered and shadowed areas ( Carver et al. 2003; Rius et al. 2010). It now occurs in temperate waters worldwide ( Lambert and Lambert 1998; Clarke and Castilla 2000; Marshall and Keough 2003; Howes et al. 2007). It was first collected in Durban ( Millar 1955) but it can be found all along the South African coast (M. Rius unpublished results). Ciona intestinalis can cause severe damage to mussel farms which results in important economic losses ( Robinson, Griffiths, McQuaid et al. 2005; Howes et al. 2007).