Polycarpa pomaria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Polycarpa pomaria | |
|---|---|
 | |
| The sea squirt Polycarpa pomaria, Gulen, Norway. | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Tunicata |
| Class: | Ascidiacea |
| Order: | Stolidobranchia |
| Family: | Styelidae |
| Genus: | Polycarpa |
| Species: | P. pomaria |
| Binomial name | |
| Polycarpa pomaria (Savigny, 1816) [1] | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
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Polycarpa pomaria is a species of tunicate or sea squirt in the family Styelidae. It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean where it lives on the seabed at depths down to about 450 metres (1,500 ft).
Polycarpa pomaria is a solitary tunicate with a conical, ovoid or globular form, growing to a length of about 7 centimetres (2.8 in). The buccal siphon at the apex has four lobes and is surrounded by about 56 tentacles of various sizes. The atrial siphon is on the side and also has four lobes. The test or tunic is brown, wrinkled and leathery, with many fleshy papillae. Internally the body wall has numerous drop-shaped gonads (called polycarps) and the pharynx wall is perforated with many bands of stigmata (slits).[2][3]