Family: Styelidae
Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa
(animals) >
Bilateria > Deuterostomia >
Chordata > Tunicata >
Ascidiacea (sea squirts) > Stolidobranchia
Thirty-six genera and 538 species worldwide,
with 15 genera and 42 species native to southern African seas, and a further
three species that are naturalised in the region.
Genera native to southern Africa
Information from Monniot et al. (2001)
and World
Register of Marine Species (WoRMS).
|
Alloeocarpa A total of nine
species worldwide, with one species, Alloeocarpa capensis, native to
southern African waters. |
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Botrylloides A total of
15 species
worldwide, with two species native to southern African seas. |
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Botryllus A total of
33 species
worldwide, with seven species native to southern African seas, and a further
species that is naturalised in the region. |
 |
|
Cnemidocarpa A total of
84 species
worldwide, with three species native to southern African seas, and another
species that is naturalised in the region. |
 |
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Dextrocarpa Two species worldwide,
with one of them, Dextrocarpa solitaris, native to southern African
waters. |
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Distomus Seven species worldwide,
with one of them, Distomus antiborealis, native to southern African
waters. |
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Gynandrocarpa One species,
Gynandrocarpa placenta (Elephant's ears), the distribution of which
includes southern African waters. |
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Metandrocarpa A total of
15 species
worldwide, with two species native to southern African seas. |
|
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Monandrocarpa Six species
worldwide, with one species, Monandrocarpa tritonis, native to
southern African waters. |
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Oligocarpa Two species worldwide,
with one species, Oligocarpa skoogi, native to southern African
waters. |
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Polyandrocarpa A total of
29 species
worldwide, with five species native to southern African seas. |
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Polycarpa A total of
138 species
worldwide, with seven species native to southern African seas. |
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Stolonica A total of
28 species
worldwide, with two species native to southern African seas. |
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Styela A total of
72 species
worldwide, with four species native to southern African seas, and a further
species that is naturalised in the region. |
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|
Symplegma A total of
12 species
worldwide, with three species native to southern African seas. |
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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 |
