Botrylloides
| Botrylloides | |
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| Genus: | Botrylloides sp.
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The "Chain Sea Squirts or Chain Tunicates" of the genus Botrylloides:
- http://ip30.eti.uva.nl/bis/tunicata.php?menuentry=soorten&id=20
- http://www.exoticsguide.org/species_pages/b_violaceus.html
Morphologically similar to Botryllus schlosseri and similarly widespread, Botrylloides is distinguished by having linearly-arranged, parallel "chains" of zooids. (Olwen Ager, [1])
Both form flat sheets of organisms covering ropes, boat hulls, horseshoe crabs, seaweeds, and basically any still or slow-moving object in saltwater.
Both are relative newcomers to most of the world's harbors, being thought to have appeared within the last 100 years in most harbors and are now found in ports in every ocean worldwide.
Invasive tunicates such as these, Didemnum sp., and Styela clava are a problem for shellfish and other marine life populations, and cause fouling of boats and piers.
Species include
This category contains articles in the subphylum of urochordata - the tunicates.
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