Polycarpa aurata
| Polycarpa aurata | |
|---|---|
| File:Triphyllozoon inornatum (Bryozoan) and Polycarpa aurata (Sea quirt).jpg | |
| Polycarpa aurata showing its pair of siphons | |
| File:Seasquirt.jpg | |
| Nudibranch (Nembrotha lineolata) laying an egg spiral on a Polycarpa aurata off the coast of Metinaro, East Timor. | |
| Scientific classification Edit this classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Tunicata |
| Class: | Ascidiacea |
| Order: | Stolidobranchia |
| Family: | Styelidae |
| Genus: | Polycarpa |
| Species: | P. aurata
|
| Binomial name | |
| Polycarpa aurata | |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
_and_Polycarpa_aurata_(Sea_quirt).jpg){kind=link}
Polycarpa aurata, also known as the ox heart ascidian, the gold-mouth sea squirt or the ink-spot sea squirt, is a species of tunicate in the family Styelidae.
Description
[edit | edit source]Polycarpa aurata grows to a height of 5 to 15 cm (2 to 6 in). It has an urn-shaped, hollow body with two siphons, one at the top and the other on the side. The body colour of this tunicate is white with purple and orange patches and purple lines. The inside is yellow or orange, and is visible around the rim of the siphons.[2][3]
Distribution
[edit | edit source]This species is found in the tropical eastern Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. Its range includes the Philippines, Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and northern Australia. Its depth range is 5 to 50 m (16 to 164 ft).[2]
Biology
[edit | edit source]Tunicates feed by drawing water in through the branchial siphon at the top, filtering out phytoplankton, bacteria and other food particles, before expelling the water through the atrial siphon at the side. Hydroids and algae may grow on the outside of the tunicate[2] and nudibranchs such as Nembrotha lineolata sometimes feed on them.[4]
References
[edit | edit source]- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b c Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Polycarpa aurata. Komodo National Park, Indonesia.
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
External links
[edit | edit source]- Error creating thumbnail: File missing Media related to Lua error in Module:Commons_link at line 62: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). at Wikimedia Commons
- Image
- Image
- Photos of Polycarpa aurata in the Sealife Collection
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