Ecteinascidia diaphanis Sluiter, 1885

(Figure 12 B)

Ecteinascidia diaphanis Sluiter, 1885: 168 pl. 1fig.2, pl.2 figs 7–10; Kott: 1985: 90 fig. 35; Monniot F. & Monniot C.: 1996: 227 fig.43; Kott: 2003:1635 fig. 5AB and synonymy.

? Ecteinascidia ndouae Monniot C. 1991: 505 fig.6.

Material. Indonesia. West Papua, Gam Island, southeast side, Blue Water mangrove channel, 00°29.164’S – 130°39.865’E, 0.5m, 07/XII/2007, coll. L.J. Bell and LE. Martin, BMC 0 0 1 (MNHN P2 ECT 108).

The transparent zooids 15mm tall are densely packed on mangrove roots (Fig. 12 B). The body is colourless except a pale pink tinge of the siphons. Transverse muscles extend over 2/3 of the body wall on each side. They are the only muscles in addition to the siphonal sphincters. The dorsal lamina in a plain membrane carries a languet at its margin at the level of each transverse vessel. Eighteen to twenty longitudinal vessels, almost all entire, lie above 20 rows of stigmata. The stomach has 3 oblique folds. The sperm duct ends in a papilla below the anus at the level of the 6th stigmata row.

Kott (2003) estimates that E. ndouae is a synonym. This species is smaller, more pigmented, with fewer stigmatal rows but nevertheless mature with incubated larvae. Both species are very similar (Monniot C. 1991). The material is not abundant enough to validate.