| Pyura doppelgangera | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Tunicata |
| Class: | Ascidiacea |
| Order: | Stolidobranchia |
| Family: | Pyuridae |
| Genus: | Pyura |
| Species: | P. doppelgangera |
| Binomial name | |
| Pyura doppelgangera Rius & Teske, 2013 | |
Pyura doppelgangera, the doppelganger cunjevoi, is a sessile ascidian, or sea squirt, that lives in coastal waters of Australasia attached to rocks or artificial structures.
This species is particularly common in Tasmania. [1] It has also been reported from South Gippsland, Victoria (Port Welshpool and Port Albert), South Australia (Adelaide) and the extreme north of New Zealand's North Island. [1] Genetic data from rapidly mutating microsatellites indicate that the species is native to Tasmania and that all non-Tasmanian populations were introduced through human activities during the period of European settlement. [2] The invasion success of the introduced populations varies depending on the presence of suitable substrates. While the species is rapidly expanding its range in New Zealand (where rocky shore habitat is continuous), the invasion of South Australia has stalled because the region mostly has sandy beaches, and settlement is limited to artificial structures. [3]
Pyura doppelgangera usually does not grow taller than about 50–60 mm. It has a brown tunic that has sand embedded in it. [1]
Pyura doppelgangera is a member of the "P. stolonifera species complex", which includes at least five species of large, solitary ascidians that are all often incorrectly referred to as P. stolonifera in the literature. It shares a recent ancestor with P. praeputialis , [1] a larger species commonly referred to a "cunjevoi" or "cunjie", which is common in coastal areas of the south-eastern Australian mainland and which is a non-indigenous species in Antofagasta, Chile. Although a difference exists regarding the maximum body size of these closely related species, they are indistinguishable externally. [1] Genetic methods have recovered the two species as highly distinct evolutionary lineages. [1] [4]
The species is named Pyura doppelgangera after the German word Doppelgänger, which in its narrowest sense means "look-alike" (i.e. somebody who closely resembles somebody else). The name reflects the difficulty in distinguishing this species from P. praeputialis because of their very similar morphology. [1]
Ascidiacea, commonly known as the ascidians, tunicates, and sea squirts, is a polyphyletic class in the subphylum Tunicata of sac-like marine invertebrate filter feeders. Ascidians are characterized by a tough outer "tunic" made of a polysaccharide.
Pyura is a large genus of sessile ascidians that live in coastal waters at depths of up to 80 m (260 feet). Like all ascidians, Pyura are filter feeders. A few species, including Pyura chilensis are commercially fished.
In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance that the boundaries between them are often unclear. Terms that are sometimes used synonymously but have more precise meanings are cryptic species for two or more species hidden under one species name, sibling species for two cryptic species that are each other's closest relative, and species flock for a group of closely related species that live in the same habitat. As informal taxonomic ranks, species group, species aggregate, macrospecies, and superspecies are also in use.
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Pyura praeputialis is an intertidal and shallow water species of tunicate. It is one of three species of "cunjevoi" in Australasia. It is the first reported species of marine organism to create a "foam-nest" for its larvae.
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