Oikopleuridae is a family of
larvacean
Larvaceans, copelates or appendicularians, class Appendicularia, are solitary, free-swimming tunicates found throughout the world's oceans. While larvaceans are filter feeders like most other tunicates, they keep their tadpole-like shape as adu ...
tunicate
Tunicates are marine invertebrates belonging to the subphylum Tunicata ( ). This grouping is part of the Chordata, a phylum which includes all animals with dorsal nerve cords and notochords (including vertebrates). The subphylum was at one time ...
s. A comparatively species-rich family, it has been especially well-researched thanks to the ubiquity of ''
Oikopleura dioica
''Oikopleura dioica'' is a species of small pelagic tunicate found in the surface waters of most of the world's oceans. It is used as a model organism in research into developmental biology.
Description
''Oikopleura dioica'' is a bioluminescent ...
'' as a model species. It comprises two subfamilies,
Bathochordaeinae and
Oikopleurinae, itself divided into the tribes
Alabiata and
Labiata.
It is believed to be sister to the clade formed by the two other families (
Fritillariidae and
Kowalevskiidae), united by common derived characteristics lacking in Oikopleuridae.
References
* Van der Land, J. (2001). Appendicularia, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 356
* Fenaux, R., Q. Bone, and D. Deibel. 1998. Appendicularian distribution and zoogeography, p. 251-264. In q. Bone
d. The biology of pelagic tunicates. Oxford University Press.
External links
Tunicate families
{{tunicata-stub