Cnemidocarpa irene ( Hartmeyer, 1906 )

Exbodi, Françoise Monniot, 2022, Additional records of bathyal ascidians (Tunicata) from the New Caledonia region, Zootaxa 5195 (3), pp. 201-223 : 213

Cnemidocarpa irene ( Hartmeyer, 1906)

Figure 11

Station: EXBODI: cp 3789, 10 specimens

Present from shallow to bathyal bottoms C. irene is common in the New Caledonian area (Monniot F. & Monniot C. 2003; Monniot F. 2021). With a maximum size of 3.5cm all specimens have the same mammilated tunic ( Fig. 11A ) and the same internal characters. The four branchial folds are widely separated ( Fig.11E ). The gut is located posteriorly on the left side of the body ( Fig. 11D ) with a plicated stomach without caecum and a lobed anus. There are two elongated gonads on each side ( Fig. 11C,D ). Several foliated endocarps are scattered on both sides of the body wall ( Fig. 11D ).

Figures

FIGURE 11. Cnemidocarpa irene. A, tunic. B, body removed from tunic; C, gonads; D, body ventrally opened; E, branchial sac. Scale bars = 1cm.