| Polyandrocarpa | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Tunicata |
| Class: | Ascidiacea |
| Order: | Stolidobranchia |
| Family: | Styelidae |
| Genus: | Polyandrocarpa Michaelsen, 1904 |
| Species | |
See text | |
Polyandrocarpa is a genus of ascidian tunicates within the family Styelidae.
Tunicates are a subphylum of the Chordata and occupy a diverse range of marine habitats such as shallow water, near shore, open ocean, and the deep sea. [1] Tunicates are invertebrates, and their bodies are surrounded by a tunic resembling cartilage, composed of proteins, carbohydrates, and tunicin, with thickness ranging from thin and delicate to transparent and gelatinous. [2] The three classes of tunicates are Ascidiacea, Thaliacea, and Appendicularia. [1]
The Ascidiacea class, also known as the sea squirts, are primarily sessile species that filter-feed and reproduce by budding. [3] [4] This class contains three orders: Aplousobranchia, Phlebobranchia, and Stolidobranchia.
The order Stolidobranchia are distinguished from other tunicates due to the presence of folded pharyngeal baskets. [5] The order Stolidobranchia contains three families: Molgulidae, Pyuridae, and Styelidae. [6] [7]
Styelidae contain both colonial and solitary species, and a number of these species have intermediate morphologies. [7] For example, certain social species within the Styelidae family reproduce clonally, and others grow in large clusters that resemble social colonies; some species brood larvae, and others are solitary, free-spawning species; and some species within Styelidae exhibit direct development. [7]
Polyandrocarpa are a genus within the family Styelidae. Characteristics of Polyandrocarpa species include bilateral symmetry, colonial organization, a soft-bodied skeletal structure, i.e., invertebrates, and may possibly include an ocelli visual system. Species are filter feeders in marine benthic and shallow environments. [8]
Species within the genus Polyandrocarpa include: [9]
Polyandrocarpa have been found in marine environments globally. [14] Species can range from shallow environments to benthic environments. For example, Polyandrocarpa zorritensis is a shallow species, whereas Polyandrocarpa arianae have been found deeper than 90 meters in the Mediterranean Sea. [15]
Polyandrocarpa have been reported in various regions, including the coasts of North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. [11] [16]
Some species of Polyandrocarpa are invasive in certain regions. For example, Polyandrocarpa zorritensis is native to the Atlantic Ocean but is considered a threat to certain marine species in the Mediterranean Sea. [16] [17]
Habitats of Polyandrocarpa species include coral reefs, estuaries, rocky or other hard surfaces, and marine benthic environments. Species attach to surfaces using an adhesive secretion. [16] [18]
Species of Polyandrocarpa play an important role in marine ecosystems as filter feeders, helping to remove small particles and pollutants from the water. [19] [20]
Polyandrocarpa feed on small particles and plankton. [20]
Polyandrocarpa are characterized by their small size and simple body structure. They typically form small, spherical colonies that consist of multiple individuals, or zooids, connected together. [21]
Polyandrocarpa form colonies composed of multiple individuals. [14] [10]
Polyandrocarpa can have colonies with embedded zooids or separate zooids joined by basal stolons, though the majority of species within this genus do not have completely embedded zooids. [10] Each zooid has a sac-like body with two siphons: an inhalant siphon that draws in water and food particles, and an exhalant siphon that expels waste and water back into the surrounding environment. [22] An exception to this is Polyandrocarpa colligata. P. colligata has completely embedded zooids and an encrusting colony. [10]
Tunicates can reproduce both sexually and asexually. Polyandrocarpa zorritensis have the ability to reproduce via non-embryonic development (NED), i.e., asexual budding. Polyandrocarpa are capable of regenerating body parts. [23]
Some Polyandrocarpa species have adapted to high-flow environments and are tolerant to temperature and salinity changes. [24]
Some species of Polyandrocarpa are also used in biomedical research due to their ability to regenerate body parts, which may have implications for human tissue engineering and organ transplantations in the future. [23]
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.
Herdmania is a genus of ascidian tunicates in the family Pyuridae.
Botryllus schlosseri is a colonial ascidian tunicate. It is commonly known as the star tunicate, but it also has several other common names, including star ascidian and golden star tunicate. Colonies grow on slow-moving, submerged objects, plants, and animals in nearshore saltwater environments.
Molgula, or sea grapes, are very common, globular, individual marine tunicates roughly the size of grapes.
Eusynstyela is a genus of ascidian tunicates in the family Styelidae.
Stolidobranchia is an order of tunicates in the class Ascidiacea. The group includes both colonial and solitary animals. They are distinguished from other tunicates by the presence of folded pharyngeal baskets. This provides the etymology of their name: in ancient Greek, στολίς, ίδος means the "fold" of a cloth. Stolidobranchian sea squirts are also characterized by the complete absence of an abdomen. The abdominal organs of other tunicates are instead located to one side of the pharyngeal basket in this group.
Pycnoclavella diminuta, known as the white-spotted sea squirt, white-spot ascidian, and white-spotted ascidian, is a species of tunicate, in the genus Pycnoclavella. Like all ascidians, these sessile animals are filter feeders.
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.
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.
Polycarpa is a genus of ascidian tunicates in the family Styelidae.
Styelidae is a family of ascidian tunicates.
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.
Gynandrocarpa is a genus of ascidian tunicates in the family Styelidae.
Metandrocarpa is a genus of ascidian tunicates in the family Styelidae.
Monandrocarpa is a genus of ascidian tunicates in the family Styelidae.
Polyzoa is a genus of ascidian tunicates in the family Styelidae.
Stolonica is a genus of ascidian tunicates in the family Styelidae.
Symplegma is a genus of ascidian tunicates in the family Styelidae.
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.
