Halocynthia igaboja Oka, 1906

Lambert, Gretchen, 2019, The Ascidiacea collected during the 2017 British Columbia Hakai MarineGEO BioBlitz, Zootaxa 4657 (3), pp. 401-436 : 425

Halocynthia igaboja Oka, 1906

Figure 12B

IHAK 12 BHAK 0614, 0615, 0616 UF 2471, 2472, 2473. Several under rocks in the intertidal across small bay from lab . IHAK 33 North Beach Nero Site , Scuba, 5 m.

IHAK 40 under Pruth Bay Dock, several with two Corella inflata .

This species has two color forms: tan or orangeish as in Fig. 12B , and darker with bright red siphons. The rounded body is never stalked; it may reach 8–10 cm in height and up to 6 cm in width. The tunic is always thickly covered with long branched spines that trap abundant detritus unless the animal is growing in high current. The short siphons are widely separated, the oral siphon anterior and the atrial siphon located slightly more posterior. When disturbed the animals can strongly contract the siphons, making them difficult to see. A detailed morphological description is given by Huntsman (1912b as Tethyum igaboja ) and Van Name (1945). This species is common across the North Pacific from Japan to N. America where it ranges from Alaska to southern California ( Ritter 1913; Van Name 1945; Abbott & Newberry 1980; O’Clair & O’Clair 1998; Lamb & Hanby 2005).

Figures

FIGURE 12.A–D: Pyuridae; E, F: Molgulidae.A: Halocynthia aurantium 10 cm in length; B: Halocynthia igaboja; C: Boltenia villosa; D: Pyura haustor; E: Molgula pacifica whole animal left side, tunic removed; F: M. pacifica close-up of siphons. Scale bars: B, 5 mm; C, 5 mm; D, 5 mm; E, 1.6 mm.