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| Query: Chordata | Result: 97th of 224 | |
Leathery sea squirt, Styela clava
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Upload Date: 2008:06:19 09:54:59
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Leathery sea squirt, Styela clava
Species Summary
Styela clava
Herdman, 1881
USGS - http://nas.er.usgs.gov/tunicates/
Taxonomy
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Tunicata
Class: Ascidiacea
Order: Pleurogona
Suborder: Stolidobranchia
Family: Styelidae
Genus: Styela
Description
Styela clava is a large, club-shaped solitary ascidian with a tough leathery body wall (test), growing up to 160mm long. It consists of an elongated, cylindrical body on top of a stalk of variable length. It can be brownish-white, yellowish-brown or reddish-brown. There are two short siphons towards the top of the organism, each with a 4-lobed opening. The body has conspicuous tubercles and rounded swellings on the upper portion and rounded longitudinal ridges on the lower half. The stalk surface is creased. Internally, the gut is a simple U-shaped loop. |
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