Polycarpa aurata

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Polycarpa aurata
Triphyllozoon inornatum (Bryozoan) and Polycarpa aurata (Sea quirt).jpg
Polycarpa aurata showing its pair of siphons
Seasquirt.jpg
Nudibranch ( Nembrotha lineolata ) laying an egg spiral on a Polycarpa aurata off the coast of Metinaro, East Timor.
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Tunicata
Class: Ascidiacea
Order: Stolidobranchia
Family: Styelidae
Genus: Polycarpa
Species:
P. aurata
Binomial name
Polycarpa aurata
(Quoy & Gaimard, 1834) [1]
Synonyms [1]
  • Ascidia aurataQuoy & Gaimard, 1834
  • Pandocia aurata(Quoy & Gaimard, 1834)
  • Pandocia botrylliferaMichaelsen, 1912
  • Pandocia pizoniHartmeyer, 1909
  • Polycarpa sulcataHerdman, 1882
  • Styela aurata(Quoy & Gaimard, 1834)
  • Styela pneumonodesSluiter, 1895
  • Styela psoloessaSluiter, 1890
Gold-mouth sea squirt Tunicate komodo.jpg
Gold-mouth sea squirt
Polycarpa aurata, purple and yellow variant Polycarpa Nick Hobgood.jpg
Polycarpa aurata, purple and yellow variant

Polycarpa aurata, also known as the ox heart ascidian, the gold-mouth sea squirt or the ink-spot sea squirt, is a species of tunicate in the family Styelidae.

Contents

Description

Polycarpa aurata grows to a height of 5 to 15 cm (2 to 6 in). It has an urn-shaped, hollow body with two siphons, one at the top and the other on the side. The body colour of this tunicate is white with purple and orange patches and purple lines. The inside is yellow or orange, and is visible around the rim of the siphons. [2] [3]

Distribution

This species is found in the tropical eastern Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. Its range includes the Philippines, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and northern Australia. Its depth range is 5 to 50 m (16 to 164 ft). [2]

Biology

Tunicates feed by drawing water in through the branchial siphon at the top, filtering out phytoplankton, bacteria and other food particles, before expelling the water through the atrial siphon at the side. Hydroids and algae may grow on the outside of the tunicate [2] and nudibranchs such as Nembrotha lineolata sometimes feed on them. [4]

References

  1. 1 2 Karen Sanamyan (2012). Shenkar N, Gittenberger A, Lambert G, Rius M, Moreira Da Rocha R, Swalla BJ, Turon X (eds.). "Polycarpa aurata". Ascidiacea World Database. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved May 24, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "Polycarpa aurata" (in French). Sous les Mers. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
  3. ↑ Polycarpa aurata. Komodo National Park, Indonesia.
  4. ↑ Rudman, W. B. (15 July 2010). "Nembrotha lineolata Bergh, 1905". Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum. Retrieved January 12, 2015.
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