''Polyclinum aurantium'' is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of colonial sea squirt, a

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 ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Polyclinidae Polyclinidae is a family of tunicates in the order Aplousobranchia. Genera The World Register of Marine Species The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive cata ...

. It is native to shallow water in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.

Description

''Polyclinum aurantium'' forms globular or flat-topped mounds consisting 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 immersed in a common tunic. Each zooid has its own buccal siphon with six lobes, through which it draws in water, and the colony has a small number of common cloacal siphons, each with a long tongue-like projection, through which water is expelled. The individual zooids are up to long, and the colony is yellowish-brown or yellowish-grey and often coated with sand.

Distribution and habitat

''Polyclinum aurantium'' is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean. Its range extends from Norway southwards to the Mediterranean Sea. It occurs on rocks and other hard substrates at depths down to about .

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q4921588 Polyclinidae Animals described in 1841