Scott & Jeanette Johnson, Kwajalein Unterwater
Info
Lissoclinum fragile (Van Name, 1902)
Lissoclinum fragile was described from Bermuda in 1902. It is a colonial sea squirt that forms very flat, thin, crusting colonies. The structure of the colony is very fragile, due in part to the dense white calcareous needles (about 0.02 mm in diameter) and also to the extensive common cloacal cavities. The openings protruded above the surface of the colony.
The zooids are about 1.5 mm long. The colonies are usually snow-white due to the calcareous needles, but the individual zooids are orange. The Fragile Sea Squirt feeds on phytoplankton and detritus as a filter feeder. In addition, she is a suspension feeder.
Reproduction is both asexual and sexual, from fertilized eggs which develop into larvae, living planktonic until they settle sessilely on a hard substrate to establish a new colony.
Lissoclinum fragile is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical habitats, on rocks, pilings and offshore oil platforms, etc.
The risk of confusion with similar-looking species is very high.
Synonymised names:
Diplosoma fragile (Van Name, 1902) · unaccepted (new combination)
Diplosomoides fragile Van Name, 1902 · unaccepted (original combination)
Lissoclinum fragile was described from Bermuda in 1902. It is a colonial sea squirt that forms very flat, thin, crusting colonies. The structure of the colony is very fragile, due in part to the dense white calcareous needles (about 0.02 mm in diameter) and also to the extensive common cloacal cavities. The openings protruded above the surface of the colony.
The zooids are about 1.5 mm long. The colonies are usually snow-white due to the calcareous needles, but the individual zooids are orange. The Fragile Sea Squirt feeds on phytoplankton and detritus as a filter feeder. In addition, she is a suspension feeder.
Reproduction is both asexual and sexual, from fertilized eggs which develop into larvae, living planktonic until they settle sessilely on a hard substrate to establish a new colony.
Lissoclinum fragile is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical habitats, on rocks, pilings and offshore oil platforms, etc.
The risk of confusion with similar-looking species is very high.
Synonymised names:
Diplosoma fragile (Van Name, 1902) · unaccepted (new combination)
Diplosomoides fragile Van Name, 1902 · unaccepted (original combination)
