Phallusia nigra Savigny, 1816

#2647, one specimen.

Distribution: Many of the following locations reported in the literature are most likely not this species: Persian Gulf, Bahrain, Oman, Red Sea, Israel, Truk, India, Singapore, Guam, Japan, Hawaii, West Africa, Caribbean, Martinique, Brazil, Bermuda. Vandepas et al. (2015) stated: “Based on morphological and molecular characters, the Phallusia reported in the Pacific (Hawaii, Japan, Taiwan, and Australia) are Phallusia philippinensis . We have no evidence that Phallusia nigra is present in Hawaii or Okinawa, Japan, while P. nigra and P. philippinensis cooccur in Singapore. Atlantic populations of dark Phallusia, as well as the Red Sea populations, were all P. nigra . Mediterranean specimens from Spain and France were Phallusia fumigata (Grube, 1864) ”.

Other detailed descriptions with illustrations: Van Name (1945, as Ascidia nigra), Abbott et al. (1997), Bonnet & Rocha (2011a, b), Monniot F. (2018a). Additional brief references: Millar (1965, 1975, 1988), Monniot C. (1983a), Nishikawa (1984), Monniot C. & Monniot F. (1997), Meenakshi (1998 incorrect identification, not P. nigra), Meliane & Ramos-Esplá (2001), Lambert (2003 likely not P. nigra, probably P. philippinensis), Rocha & Costa (2005), Rocha et al. (2005), Shenkar & Loya (2009), Rocha et al. (2012).