Stolonica brevigastra, KOTT, 2003

KOTT, PATRICIA, 2003, New syntheses and new species in the Australian Ascidiacea, Journal of Natural History 37 (13), pp. 1611-1653 : 1644

Stolonica brevigastra sp. nov.

Stolonica vesicularis: Kott, 1985: 240 , figure 116.

Distribution. Type locality: South Australia (Top Gallant I. in caves and overhangs, 20 m, coll. S. Shepherd et al., 10 April 83, holotype SAM E2853, QM GH2309; Ward I., 1–5 m, coll. S. Shepherd et al., 31 March 82, paratypes QM GH1308, GH1310).

Remarks. Monniot and Monniot (1996), discussing a new species, Stolonica limbata from the Palau Is (a possible synonym of Stolonica vesicularis Van Name, 1918 from the Philippines), have drawn attention to the fact that Kott’s (1985) specimens from South Australia are not conspecific with the Philippine species. Kott (1985) had indeed found differences between these specimens but thought they could be the result of intraspecific variation as she found the similarities compelling. However, the differences are consistent. The stomach of the present South Australian species is shorter than the tropical one, the gastric folds are wider and fewer and the number of branchial folds (three on the right and two on the left) have not been found to vary, while in the tropical species there sometimes are three on each side of the body. In both, the dorsal fold on each side is larger than the others; and the vas deferens is variable. Kott (1985) observed, for the South Australian species, that the vas deferens became longer as the testis matured.

Stolonica brevigastra is distinguished from S. truncata Kott, 1972 (which has an overlapping range in southern Australia) by its sandy test, long testis lobes and about 40 longitudinal stomach folds.