Didemnidae

Kott, Patricia, 2007, New and little-known species of Didemnidae (Ascidiacea, Tunicata) from Australia (part 4), Journal of Natural History 41 (17 - 20), pp. 1163-1211 : 1208

Didemnidae ?genus?species

( Figure 11F )

Distribution

Tasmanian Canyons (King I. Canyons, 348 m, QM G308889).

Description

The colony is thin and encrusting with the spicules crowded throughout and a very hard surface. The structure of the zooids is obscured by contraction and mutilation. The spicules are large (to 0.1 mm diameter) with 11–13 short, blunt or truncated rays.

Remarks

Although apparently an undescribed species, the information necessary to assign this specimen to a genus is not available from this specimen. The spicules have slightly fewer rays but otherwise resemble those of the tropical Trididemnum areolatum ( Herdman, 1906) and are significantly larger than the spicules of Polysyncraton pseudomagnetae Kott, 2004b and Polysyncraton linere Kott, 2004a from Western Port.

Figures

Figure 11. Scanning electron micrographs. (A) Trididemnum pigmentatum (QMG308842); (B) Trididemnum sibogae (QM G308893); (C) Trididemnum titanium (QM G308816); (D) Lissoclinum capsulatum (QM G308804); (E) Lissoclinum reginum (QM G308871); (F) Didemnidae?genus?species (QM G308889); (G, H) Didemnidae?genus?species [(G) QM G308888; (H) QM G308900].