Pseudodistoma fragile Tokioka, 1958

Lambert, Gretchen, Lee, Serina Siew-Chen & Teo, Serena Lay-Ming, 2021, Ascidians collected during the 2013 Singapore Strait International Marine Biodiversity Workshop, Zootaxa 4933 (1), pp. 1-38 : 13

Pseudodistoma fragile Tokioka, 1958 NEW RECORD

Figure 4G, H

All colonies with transparent, soft, jelly-like tunic. All colonies damaged somewhat during collection and zooid arrangement disrupted, but zooids not in systems. Zooids with independent siphons, thorax short and abdomen long, thread-like. Siphons with six rounded lobes, stomach with two longitudinal furrows. No larvae.

#3788, three small colonies; #3811, one small colony; #3838, two colonies, larger one 4 cm across. Longest zooid 8 mm but all are somewhat contracted. In larger colony some semblance of loose systems present; #3864, one colony, some white pigment on siphons; #3874, one colony; #3879, one colony 1.8 cm in length; #4625, two colonies.

Distribution: New Caledonia, Philippines, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Mozambique, Vietnam.

References: Tokioka (1958), Monniot, F. (1987, 2010), Monniot F. & Monniot C. (2001).

Figures

FIGURE 4. A–D: Eudistoma laysani. A: whole living colony 3 cm across; B: one head; C: unhatched tadpole 800 µm in length; D: one head of preserved colony. E: Eudistoma regina, part of large colony; F: Aplidium cf. grisiatum colony 1.5 cm in width; G–H: Pseudodistoma fragile. G: whole living colony 4 cm across; H: single zooid 8 mm in length, somewhat contracted. Scale bar: E, 0.4 cm.