Didemnum parau

Kott, Patricia, 2007, New and little-known species of Didemnidae (Ascidiacea, Tunicata) from Australia (part 4), Journal of Natural History 41 (17 - 20), pp. 1163-1211 : 1187

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.1080/00222930701359218
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/191287F0-FFC1-FFAA-FE2B-FE07989BCFBD
treatment provided by	Carolina
scientific name	Didemnum parau
status

Treatment

Didemnum parau C. and F. Monniot, 1987

( Figures 3C, D View Figure 3 , 9D View Figure 9 )

Didemnum parau C. and F. Monniot 1987, p 39; Kott 2002, p 37.

Distribution

Previously recorded (see Kott 2002): Northern Territory ( Darwin ); Western Pacific ( French Polynesia, Philippines). New record: Queensland (Great Barrier Reef: 15.245 ° S, 145.435 ° E, 29 m, QM G308859 ) GoogleMaps .

Description

Spicules are crowded throughout the colony. Pigment cells are not present in the preserved colony. The spicules (to 0.023 mm diameter) are burr-shaped, with straight rod-like rays. Zooids are relatively small, the vas deferens coils eight times around the undivided testis. Almost spherical larvae with a trunk 0.7 mm long, and four ectodermal ampullae on each side, are crowded in the basal test. Blastozooids were not detected. The tail is wound about two-thirds of the distance around the trunk. These larvae were present in October.

Remarks

The larvae are smaller than those described previously for this species ( Monniot and Monniot 1987) but otherwise the specimens appear to have similar characters. Although they report six coils of the vas deferens, drawings of the present species ( Monniot and Monniot 1987, Figure 12B, C) show seven and eight coils respectively. The newly recorded specimen appears to be conspecific with the French Polynesian specimen.