Genus: Pyura
Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa
(animals) >
Bilateria > Deuterostomia >
Chordata > Tunicata >
Ascidiacea (sea squirts) > Stolidobranchia > Family:
Pyuridae
A total of 98 species
worldwide, with five species native to southern African seas.
Species native to southern Africa
Information from Monniot et al. (2001)
and World
Register of Marine Species (WoRMS).
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Pyura capensis
Limited to the Western Cape, South Africa. |
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Pyura gangelion
Distribution includes Mozambique, Somalia, Djibouti, Red Sea and European
waters. |
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Pyura herdmani (Herdman's redbait)
Ranges from Namibia to KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa). Recorded from a depth
of 2 m. Forms dense aggregations on more sheltered rocky shores than Pyura
stolonifera (Branch et al. 2010). Not as common as the latter species. |
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Pyura sansibarica
West Indian Ocean, including Mozambique and Madagascar. |
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Pyura stolonifera (Redbait)
Ranges from Namibia to Durban (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa). Forms large
beds of individuals on wave-exposed rocky shores from low tide to a depth of
10 m (Branch et al. 2010). |
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Publications
- Monniot C, Monniot F and Griffiths CL. 2001. South African
ascidians. Annals of the South African Museum 108(1): 1-141.
Text by Hamish Robertson |
