''Perophora'' is a

sea squirt Ascidiacea, commonly known as the ascidians or sea squirts, is a paraphyletic class in the subphylum Tunicata of sac-like marine invertebrate filter feeders. Ascidians are characterized by a tough outer test or "tunic" made of the polysaccharid ...

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

in the family Perophoridae. Most species are found in shallow warm water but a few are found in higher latitudes. A colony consists of a number of

zooid A zooid or zoöid is an animal that is part of a colonial animal. This lifestyle has been adopted by animals from separate unrelated taxa. Zooids are multicellular; their structure is similar to that of other solitary animals. The zooids can ...

s which bud off from a long slender

stolon In biology, a stolon ( from Latin ''wikt:stolo, stolō'', genitive ''stolōnis'' – "branch"), also known as a runner, is a horizontal connection between parts of an organism. It may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton. Typically, animal ...

Characteristics

A ''Perophora'' colony consists of a system of stolons from which individual zooids arise at intervals. Each zooid has four or five rows of stigmata in the wall of the atrium, the one exception being '' Perophora multistigmata'' which has eight rows. In some cases, the five-rowed species have some stigmata extending over the first and second rows indicating that the primary number of rows is four. In '' Ecteinascidia'', the only other genus in the family, there are always eight or more rows of stigmata, usually twelve to twenty rows. Other distinguishing characteristics are that ''Perophora'' has a horizontal gut loop with a short

rectum The rectum (: rectums or recta) is the final straight portion of the large intestine in humans and some other mammals, and the gut in others. Before expulsion through the anus or cloaca, the rectum stores the feces temporarily. The adult ...

and a

testis A testicle or testis ( testes) is the gonad in all male bilaterians, including humans, and is Homology (biology), homologous to the ovary in females. Its primary functions are the production of sperm and the secretion of Androgen, androgens, p ...

with usually one, but up to four lobes, situated in the gut loop. In ''Ecteinascidia'' the gut loop is curved, the rectum long and the testis multi-lobed.

Species

The World Register of Marine Species lists the following species: *'' Perophora annectens'' Ritter, 1893 *'' Perophora bermudensis'' Berrill, 1932 *'' Perophora carpenteria'' Goodbody, 1994 *'' Perophora clavata'' Kott, 1985 *'' Perophora euphues'' (Sluiter, 1895) *'' Perophora hornelli'' Herdman, 1906 *'' Perophora hutchisoni'' Macdonald, 1859 *'' Perophora jacerens'' (Tokioka, 1954) *'' Perophora japonica'' Oka, 1927 *'' Perophora listeri'' Wiegman, 1835 *'' Perophora longicaulis'' Kott, 2003 *'' Perophora modificata'' Kott, 1985 *'' Perophora multiclathrata'' (Sluiter, 1904) *'' Perophora multistigmata'' Kott, 1952 *'' Perophora namei'' Hartmeyer & Michaelsen, 1928 *'' Perophora psammodes'' (Sluiter, 1895) *'' Perophora regina'' Goodbody & Cole, 1987 *'' Perophora sabulosa'' Kott, 1990 *'' Perophora sagamiensis'' Tokioka, 1953 *'' Perophora tokarae'' *'' Perophora virgulata'' Monniot, 1997 *'' Perophora viridis'' Verrill, 1871 Perophora listeri 001

References

External links

* * * {{Authority control Perophoridae Tunicate genera