Polycarpa insulsa ( Sluiter, 1898 )

Polycarpa insulsa ( Sluiter, 1898)

( Figure 15A View FIGURE 15. A )

Styela (Polycarpa) insulsa Sluiter, 1898: 14 , Antilles. Polycarpa insulsa: Monniot C. :1987: 294, New Caledonia, and synonymy; Monniot et al 2001: 93 figs 46,4H, South Africa; Monniot F.& Monniot C.: 2003:701.

Material. Indonesia. West Papua, Gam Island, Danau Nine Gam marine lake, 00°26.970’S – 130°29.149’E, 0.5m, 02/XII/2007, coll. L.J. Bell and L.E. Martin, DNG 0 0 2 ( MNHN S1 POL.B 549). Malaysia, Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Sutera marine boat harbour 05°58.08’N – 116°03.34’E, 1m, 16/VIII/2005, coll. Coral Reef Research Foundation, OCDN 9122 Y ( MNHN S1 POL.B 521).

Specimens from Martinique and New Caledonia have been re-examined in comparison with the animals from Indonesia and they are very similar. At Raja Ampat the individuals may reach 15cm, they are covered with many types of epibionts ( Fig. 15A View FIGURE 15. A ). The tunic is hard and brown. The dark internal layer of the siphons has pale yellow stripes. The body wall is thick. The dorsal tubercle is complex, inside a deep curve of the peripharyngeal band. Small papillae lie on the imperforated tissue anterior to the branchial stigmata. About 25 to 28 longitudinal vessels constitute the folds, 8 to 10 are between them. The short stigmata are not crossed by parastigmatic vessels. The gut occupies the posterior part of the left body side. The stomach is wide with an oesophageal diverticulum. There is no caecum but a wide bridge crossing the primary intestinal loop. The rectum is attached to the body wall along its whole length ending in a lobed anus. There are numerous oval polycarps embedded in the body wall, the male and female papillae are joined and protruding. Endocarps fill the whole peribranchial cavity and are present on the digestive loop.

The geographic distribution of this large species is wide around the Indo-Pacific and the western tropical Atlantic.