| Perophora viridis | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Tunicata |
| Class: | Ascidiacea |
| Order: | Phlebobranchia |
| Family: | Perophoridae |
| Genus: | Perophora |
| Species: | P. viridis |
| Binomial name | |
| Perophora viridis | |
Perophora viridis, the honeysuckle tunicate, is a species of colonial sea squirt in the genus Perophora found in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean.
Perophora viridis is a colonial sea squirt with the individual zooids united by a stolon or stem but spaced widely apart. The stolon meanders along the surface of the substrate forming a mat. The base of each zooid is attached to the stolon and its body resembles a small barrel, with an opening at the top and another at the side, each opening raised on a rim. These are the buccal siphon through which water flows into the body of the animal and the atrial siphon through which it is expelled. A large pharynx occupies much of the interior and the surrounding muscular body wall is known as the mantle. The pharynx opens into a horizontally aligned gut which loops around to terminate near the atrial siphon. There are four bands of "stigmata" on the inside of the mantle, a fact that this species has in common with Perophora regina but which distinguishes it from several other western Atlantic members of the genus Perophora which have five bands. [2] [3]
The outer surface of the zooid is known as a tunic and is gelatinous and translucent. It is colourless but the animal appears green because of the blood corpuscles circulating in blood vessels within the mantle. The arrangement of muscles in the mantle is important for distinguishing Perophora viridis from other species. These muscles are limited to about twelve muscles running longitudinally from the siphonal plate, a slightly depressed area between the siphons. The muscles extend for about a quarter of the length of the zooid and their function is to enable the animal to contract and protect its siphons. The only other musculature is the circular sphincter muscles which control the size of the siphons. [3]
The siphons each have six or more pointed lobes and the opening into the pharynx is surrounded by ten large and ten small tentacles, designed to prevent the entry of particle too large for the animal to cope with. The pharynx occupies most of the body cavity and is surrounded by a water-filled atrium. This is criss-crossed by various mesenteries which provide support for the pharynx and the rest of the gut. [2]
Perophora viridis is found in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. [1] In the Caribbean it is plentiful in nutrient-rich lagoons where the creeping stolon spreads like a vine across the seabed, over seaweed and oysters and around mangrove roots. It often grows intertwined with the tree-like bryozoan Amathia vidovici and less often with another bryozoan, Amathia verticillata . [3] The stolons of tunicate and bryozoan run parallel with and round each other, making the whole resemble a single organism. [3]
Perophora viridis is a filter feeder. It draws water in through the buccal siphon and food particles such as bacteria and zooplankton get trapped in a mucus net that lines the pharynx. This gets rolled up and moved along by cilia and passes into the gut where digestion takes place. The anus is near the atrial siphon and waste products get swept out with the exhalent water. [2]
Perophora viridis has a simple pattern of growth and relatively unspecialised cells. It has been found that the tip of a stolon, or a section of stolon with or without zooids, can regenerate when severed from the parent organism. New buds can develop within two days at either or both cut ends of a section of stolon, or occasionally in the middle. Even undifferentiated material extracted from the tunic is capable of regeneration. [4]
A tunicate is an exclusively marine invertebrate animal, a member of the subphylum Tunicata. This grouping is part of the Chordata, a phylum which includes all animals with dorsal nerve cords and notochords. The subphylum was at one time called Urochordata, and the term urochordates is still sometimes used for these animals. They are the only chordates that have lost their myomeric segmentation, with the possible exception of the seriation of the gill slits. However, doliolids still display segmentation of the muscle bands.
Ascidiacea, commonly known as the ascidians or sea squirts, is a paraphyletic class in the subphylum Tunicata of sac-like marine invertebrate filter feeders. Ascidians are characterized by a tough outer "tunic" made of a polysaccharide.
Ecteinascidia turbinata, commonly known as the mangrove tunicate, is a species of tunicate in the family Perophoridae. It was described to science in 1880 by William Abbott Herdman. The cancer drug trabectedin can be isolated from this species.
Perophora is a sea squirt genus in the family Perophoridae. Most species are found in shallow warm water but a few are found in higher latitudes. A colony consists of a number of zooids which bud off from a long slender stolon.
Atriolum robustum is a colonial tunicate or sea squirt in the family Didemnidae. It is native to the western and central Indo-Pacific where it is usually found anchored to a hard surface in shallow water.
Didemnum molle is a species of colonial tunicate in the family Didemnidae. It is commonly known as the tall urn ascidian, the green barrel sea squirt or the green reef sea-squirt. It is native to the Red Sea and the tropical waters of the Indo-Pacific region.
Didemnum vexillum is a species of colonial tunicate in the family Didemnidae. It is commonly called sea vomit, marine vomit, pancake batter tunicate, or carpet sea squirt. It is thought to be native to Japan, but it has been reported as an invasive species in a number of places in Europe, North America and New Zealand. It is sometimes given the nickname "D. vex" because of the vexing way in which it dominates marine ecosystems when introduced into new locations; however, the species epithet vexillum actually derives from the Latin word for flag, and the species was so named because of the way colonies' long tendrils appear to wave in the water like a flag.
Ciona savignyi is a marine animal sometimes known as the Pacific transparent sea squirt or solitary sea squirt. It is a species of tunicates in the family Cionidae. It is found in shallow waters around Japan and has spread to the west coast of North America where it is regarded as an invasive species.
Amathia vidovici is a species of colonial bryozoans with a tree-like structure. It is found in shallow waters over a wide geographical range, being found in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and adjoining seas.
Amathia verticillata, commonly known as the spaghetti bryozoan, is a species of colonial bryozoans with a bush-like structure. It is found in shallow temperate and warm waters in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea and has spread worldwide as a fouling organism. It is regarded as an invasive species in some countries.
Perophora regina is a species of colonial sea squirt in the genus Perophora. It is native to the tropical western Atlantic Ocean where it is found growing on mangrove roots on the Belize Barrier Reef.
Perophora multiclathrata is a species of colonial sea squirt in the genus Perophora. It is native to the tropical Indo-Pacific and the western Atlantic Ocean.
Morchellium argus, the red-flake ascidian, is a species of colonial sea squirt, a tunicate in the family Polyclinidae. It is native to shallow water in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, especially round the coasts of Britain.
Polycarpa pomaria is a species of tunicate or sea squirt in the family Styelidae. It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean where it lives on the seabed at depths down to about 450 metres (1,500 ft).
Dendrodoa grossularia is a species of tunicate or sea squirt in the family Styelidae, commonly known as the baked bean ascidian. It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean where it is common in shallow water and on the lower shore in exposed rocky sites.
Stolonica socialis is a species of tunicate or sea squirt in the family Styelidae, commonly known as orange sea grapes. It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, where it lives on the rocky seabed in shallow water.
Distomus variolosus is a species of tunicate or sea squirt in the family Styelidae. It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean where it lives on the seabed, typically on the stems and fronds of kelp.
Boltenia villosa is a species of tunicate, a marine invertebrate of the family Pyuridae. Common names include spiny-headed tunicate, hairy sea squirt, stalked hairy sea squirt and bristly tunicate. This species was first described in 1864 by the American marine biologist William Stimpson who gave it the name Cynthia villosa. It was later transferred to the genus Boltenia. The type locality is Puget Sound, Washington state, United States.
Halocynthia igaboja, commonly known as sea hedgehog, bristly tunicate or spiny sea squirt, is a species of tunicate in the family Pyuridae. It is native to the northeastern Pacific Ocean. This species was first described in 1906 by the Japanese marine biologist Asajiro Oka, who gave it the name Cynthia ritteri. It was later transferred to the genus Halocynthia.
Clavelina ossipandae, the skeleton panda sea squirt or skeleton panda ascidian, is a species of colonial ascidian, a group of sessile, marine filter-feeding invertebrates. Originally discovered near Kume Island in Japan by local divers, pictures of the animal attracted attention in the media for its appearance prior to its formal taxonomic description in 2024.
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