Botryllus schlosseri
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Botryllus schlosseri | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Tunicate colonies of Didemnum sp. (left) and Botryllus schlosseri (right) overgrowing individuals of the tunicate Styela clava.
|
||||||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
| Binomial name | ||||||||||||||||
| Botryllus schlosseri (Pallas, 1766) |
||||||||||||||||
| Synonyms | ||||||||||||||||
|
Alcyonium schlosseri [1] |
Botryllus schlosseri, commonly known as the golden star tunicate, is an invasive, colonial ascidian tunicate that grows on slow-moving, submerged objects, plants, and animals in nearshore saltwater environments.
Its range has spread over the last 100 years to a nearly worldwide extent. Ranging in the western Atlantic ocean from the Bay of Fundy to North Carolina, this is "the most common colonial tunicate in North America."[2] This species can be distinguished from Botrylloides sp. by the pattern of zooid growth. B. schlosseri zooids emanate from a center in the manner of the arms of a star. Also, there usually are fewer zooids per cluster (5-8 in B. schlosseri and 10 or more in Botrylloides).
[edit] External links
[edit] Notes
- ^ Botryllidae-Wikispecies. Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
- ^ Andrew J. Martinez (2003). Marine Life of the North Atlantic: Canada to New England. Aqua Quest Publications. Retrieved on 2007-02-17.
 |
This invertebrate-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
