Observations on non-didemnid ascidians from Australian waters (1)
Author
Kott, Patricia
text
Journal of Natural History
2006
2006-04-26
40
3 - 4
169
234
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222930600621601
journal article
10.1080/00222930600621601
1464-5262
5232431
Aplidium robustum
Kott, 1992
Aplidium robustum
Kott 1992a
, p 582
.
Distribution
Previously
recorded (
Kott 1992a
):
Western Australia
(King George Sound);
South Australia
(Great Australian Bight);
Tasmania
(Dunalley).
New
records:
Tasmania
(Bass Strait,
70 m
,
QM
G308806–7
)
.
Remarks
The newly recorded colonies are identical with those previously assigned to the species, being soft, irregular, fleshy masses with sand embedded only in the base. The crowded zooids, their long, narrow thoraces, orange in preservative and with about 20 longitudinal folds in the small stomach, are arranged in circular systems. The soft test contains white, opaque corpuscles in the layer that closely surrounds the zooids. The newly recorded zooids have the atrial tongue separate from the aperture, although this has not previously been reported for this species. The species resembles
A. multiplicatum
Sluiter, 1909
although the larvae and the cloacal systems are different (see
Kott 1992a
).