Sycozoa pulchra
Species of tunicate
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sycozoa pulchra, (common name - stalked ascidian)[2] is a sea squirt in the family Holozoidae, first described by William Abbott Herdman in 1886 as Colella pulchra.[1][3] The taxonomic decision which determined the name, Sycozoa pulchra, and the species' synonymy was given by Patricia Kott in 1990.[1][4]
| Sycozoa pulchra | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Tunicata |
| Class: | Ascidiacea |
| Order: | Aplousobranchia |
| Family: | Holozoidae |
| Genus: | Sycozoa |
| Species: | S. pulchra |
| Binomial name | |
| Sycozoa pulchra (Herdman, 1886) | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
It is found in coastal waters from Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia to Western Australia, and off Indonesia.[1]
Description
This sea-squirt is composed of a cylindrical colony of paired rows of zooids on a stalk. It is usually transparent with white tipped siphons. The colony can grow to 6 cm, on a 30 cm stalk. They are seen more commonly in the cooler months when the colony heads regenerate.[2]
They are found in sediments, on reefs, in sea grass meadows and sponge gardens to depths of 25 m.[2]