Rhodosoma turcicum ( Savigny, 1816 )

Lambert, Gretchen, Lee, Serina Siew-Chen & Teo, Serena Lay-Ming, 2021, Ascidians collected during the 2013 Singapore Strait International Marine Biodiversity Workshop, Zootaxa 4933 (1), pp. 1-38 : 16

Rhodosoma turcicum ( Savigny, 1816)

Figure 6A

This small species is instantly recognizable because of the two short siphons very close together at the anterior end, colored either yellow or reddish, that can be covered by the closure of a lid composed of both body wall and tunic, its closure controlled by strong heavy muscles when the animal is disturbed. The closure is quick and includes both the mantle and the overlying tunic which is closely attached to the body. The tunic is frequently covered with epibionts so that when the siphons are closed and covered it is very cryptic. Unlike most members of the Corellidae , the stigmata are straight.

#0151, a single specimen about 3 cm in length.

Worldwide distribution in warm waters: China, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Guam, Thailand, Gulf of Siam, Australia, New Caledonia, Sri Lanka, Mozambique, Somalia, Chile, India, Indonesia, Japan, Red Sea, Israel (Mediterranean), Florida, Caribbean, Brazil.

Detailed descriptions: Van Name (1945), Kott (1985), Nishikawa (1991), Meenakshi & Renganathan (1997), Lee et al. (2013). Additional references: Tokioka (1970), Millar (1975, 1988), Nishikawa (1986), Monniot C. (1983a, 1991a, 1997), Lambert (2003), Rocha et al. (2005, 2012), Shenkar & Loya (2009), Lee et al. (2016).

Figures

FIGURE 6. A: Rhodosoma turcicum 3 cm in length; B–D: Ecteinascidia nexa zooid 3 mm in length. B: living zooid; C, D same zooid preserved. C: right side; D: left side. E: Ecteinascidia thurstoni, two zooids 6 mm in length; F: Perophora modificata, scale bar 4 mm; G: Perophora multiclathrata 3 mm in diameter.