''Thalia'' is a genus of
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 belonging to the family
Salpidae
A salp (: salps, also known colloquially as “sea grape”) or salpa (: salpae or salpas) is a barrel-shaped, planktonic tunicate in the family Salpidae. The salp moves by contracting its gelatinous body in order to pump water through it; it ...
.
The genus has almost
cosmopolitan distribution
In biogeography, a cosmopolitan distribution is the range of a taxon that extends across most or all of the surface of the Earth, in appropriate habitats; most cosmopolitan species are known to be highly adaptable to a range of climatic and en ...
.
Species:
*''
Thalia cicar
Thalia, Thalía, Thaleia or Thalian may refer to:
People
* Thalia (given name), including a list of people with the name
Mythological and fictional characters
* Thalia (Grace), one of the three Graces (Charities)
* Thalia (Muse), the muse of co ...
''
*''
Thalia democratica''
*''
Thalia longicauda''
*''
Thalia orientalis''
*''
Thalia rhinoceros''
*''
Thalia rhomboides''
*''
Thalia sibogae''
Sperm and egg interaction has been studied to discover if there are any shared features with other marine invertebrates. It was found that they are closely related to Ascidians and supports the idea that Ascidians gave rise to them.
[ Holland. (1988). Spermatogenesis in the salps Thalia democratica and Cyclosalpa affinis (Tunicata: Thaliacea): An electron microscopic study. Journal of Morphology (1931), 198(2), 189–204. https://doi.org/10.1002/jmor.1051980206 ]
References
Salpidae
Tunicate genera
{{Tunicata-stub