Aplidium solidum

Aplidium solidum is a species of colonial sea squirts, a tunicate in the family Polyclinidae. It is commonly known as the red ascidian or sea pork.

Aplidium solidum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Tunicata
Class: Ascidiacea
Order: Enterogona
Family: Polyclinidae
Genus: Aplidium
Species:
A. solidum
Binomial name
Aplidium solidum
(Ritter & Forsyth, 1917)[1]
Synonyms[1]
  • Amaroucium solidum Ritter & Forsyth, 1917
  • Aplidium arboratum Kott, 1963
  • Aplidium incrustans (Herdman, 1891)
  • Psammaplidium fragile Herdman, 1891
  • Psammaplidium incrustans Herdman, 1891
  • Psammaplidium lobatum Herdman, 1891
  • Psammaplidium solidum Herdman, 1891
  • Synoicum investum Kott, 1963

Description

Aplidium solidum is a compound tunicate forming sheets or slabs up to 20 cm across on rocks and other hard substrates. The tunic is gelatinous but firm in consistency, 2 to 3 cm thick and a red or pink colour. The individual zooids are bright red, 12 mm long and arranged in small systems. There are usually 13 to 15 rows of gill-like perforations in the pharynx of each.[2][3]

Distribution

The type location of Aplidium solidum is Pemba Island, Tanzania and it is also found in Australian waters.[1] It occurs on the west coast of North America from British Columbia south to California where it is common on rocks, especially among the holdfasts of kelp forests, and pilings.[2] It occurs in the intertidal zone and at depths down to 40 metres.[3]

Biology

Aplidium solidum is a filter feeder. Water is sucked into the interior of the organism through an oral aperture and then expelled through a larger one, common to all the zooids in the system. Phytoplankton and other small organisms get trapped in mucus threads secreted by the endostyle.[3]

This tunicate breeds in the spring and summer and broods its larvae in its atrial cavity.[3]

The nudibranch, Hermissenda crassicornis, feeds on this tunicate.[2]

References
  1. Aplidium solidum (Ritter & Forsyth, 1917) World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
  2. Aplidium solidum SeaNet. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
  3. Aplidium solidum Archived 2012-04-04 at the Wayback Machine WallaWalla. Retrieved 2011-11-21.
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