Didemnum psammathodes (Sluiter, 1895)

Monniot, Françoise, 2016, Ascidians (Tunicata) of the French Guiana Expedition, Zootaxa 4114 (3), pp. 201-245 : 207

Didemnum psammathodes (Sluiter, 1895)

Figure 4 C.

Station. SD15.

This brownish didemnid in thin colonies full of fecal pellets can settle on any kind of subtrate in all warm seas of the world. The small spicules are rare in the tunic and often limited to the area around the oral siphons. The small larvae 0.45mm ( Fig. 4 C) have 3 adhesive papillae and 4 pairs of ampullae as figured in Monniot F. (1983, fig 13, pl. 2B–E). Often recorded in harbours, this easily identified species is invasive.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Didemnid larvae stained with hemalum. A, Didemnum duplicatum; B, Didemnum galacteum; C, Didemnum psammathodes; D, Polysyncraton amethysteum. Scale bars: A = 0.5 mm; B = 0.3 mm; C = 0.2 mm; D = 0.4 mm.