Polyclinum aurantium

Polyclinum aurantium is a species of colonial sea squirt, a tunicate in the family Polyclinidae. It is native to shallow water in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.

Polyclinum aurantium
Polyclinum aurantium
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Subphylum:
Tunicata
Class:
Ascidiacea
Order:
Aplousobranchia
Family:
Polyclinidae
Genus:
Polyclinum
Species:
P. aurantium
Binomial name
Polyclinum aurantium
Synonyms
  • Glossophorum sabulosum (Giard, 1872)
  • Polyclinum cerebriforme Alder & Hancock, 1912
  • Polyclinum sabulosum Giard, 1872

Description

Polyclinum aurantium forms globular or flat-topped mounds consisting of a number of zooids immersed in a common tunic. Each zooid has its own buccal siphon with six lobes, through which it draws in water, and the colony has a small number of common cloacal siphons, each with a long tongue-like projection, through which water is expelled. The individual zooids are up to 6 mm (0.24 in) long, and the colony is yellowish-brown or yellowish-grey and often coated with sand.[2]

Distribution and habitat

Polyclinum aurantium is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean. Its range extends from Norway southwards to the Mediterranean Sea. It occurs on rocks and other hard substrates at depths down to about 100 m (328 ft).[2]

References
  1. Sanamyan, Karen (2014). "Polyclinum aurantium Milne Edwards, 1841". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2015-02-05.
  2. de Kluijver, M.J.; Ingalsuo, S.S. "Polyclinum aurantium". Macrobenthos of the North Sea: Tunicata. Marine Species Identification Portal. Retrieved 2015-02-05.
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