Monandrocarpa plana ( Kott, 1972 )

Kott, Patricia, 2006, Observations on non-didemnid ascidians from Australian waters (1), Journal of Natural History 40 (3 - 4), pp. 169-234 : 220

Monandrocarpa plana ( Kott, 1972)

Monoandrocarpa plana Kott 1972, p 250 .

Monandrocarpa plana: Kott 1985, p 210 and synonymy.

Distribution

Previously recorded (see Kott 1985): New South Wales (Cronulla); Philippines. The species has been taken from the Philippines on rocks supplied to the aquarium industry. New records: Queensland (18.015 ° S, 146.645 ° E, 55 m) .

Description

The newly recorded colony is a collection of small grey domes, each to 1 cm diameter with sessile apertures on the upper surface, the branchial aperture halfway between the atrial aperture (in the centre) and the anterior margin of dome. The whole of the lower flat surface adheres to the substratum. The test is thin and slightly translucent. Sometimes the basal test spreads out around the zooids, but a connection between them was not detected. The stomach is folded. About 10–12 hermaphrodite polycarp gonads, each consisting of a sac-like ovary associated with a single testis follicle, are in a row along each side of the endostyle.