Polycarpa aurata
{{Short description|Species of sea squirt}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Polycarpa Nick Hobgood.jpg
| image_caption = Polycarpa aurata, purple and yellow variant
| image2 = Seasquirt.jpg
| image2_caption = Nudibranch (Nembrotha lineolata) laying an egg spiral on a Polycarpa aurata off the coast of Metinaro, East Timor.
| taxon = Polycarpa aurata
| authority = (Quoy & Gaimard, 1834){{cite WoRMS |author=Karen Sanamyan |year=2012 |title=Polycarpa aurata |db=Ascidiacea |id=251001 |accessdate=May 24, 2012}}
| synonyms =
- Ascidia aurata Quoy & Gaimard, 1834
- Pandocia aurata (Quoy & Gaimard, 1834)
- Pandocia botryllifera Michaelsen, 1912
- Pandocia pizoni Hartmeyer, 1909
- Polycarpa sulcata Herdman, 1882
- Styela aurata (Quoy & Gaimard, 1834)
- Styela pneumonodes Sluiter, 1895
- Styela psoloessa Sluiter, 1890
}}
Polycarpa aurata, also known as the ox heart ascidian, the gold-mouth sea squirt or the ink-spot sea squirt, is a species of tunicate in the family Styelidae.
Description
Polycarpa aurata grows to a height of {{convert|5|to|15|cm|0|abbr=on}}. It has an urn-shaped, hollow body with two siphons, one at the top and the other on the side. The body colour of this tunicate is white with purple and orange patches and purple lines. The inside is yellow or orange and this is visible around the rim of the siphons.{{cite web |url=http://fran.cornu.free.fr/affichage/affichage_nom.php?id_espece=1276 |title=Polycarpa aurata |publisher=Sous les Mers |language=fr |accessdate=January 12, 2015}}[http://ocean.si.edu/ocean-photos/komodo-national-park-indonesia Polycarpa aurata]. Komodo National Park, Indonesia.
Distribution
This species is found in the tropical eastern Indian Ocean and the western Pacific Ocean. Its range includes the Philippines, Indonesia and northern Australia. Its depth range is {{convert|5|to|50|m|0|abbr=on}}.
Biology
Tunicates feed by drawing water in through the branchial siphon at the top, filtering out phytoplankton, bacteria and other food particles, before expelling the water through the atrial siphon at the side. hydroids and algae may grow on the outside of the tunicate and nudibranchs such as Nembrotha lineolata sometimes feed on them.{{cite web |url=http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/nemblin |title=Nembrotha lineolata Bergh, 1905 |author=Rudman, W. B. |work=Sea Slug Forum |date=15 July 2010 |publisher=Australian Museum |accessdate=January 12, 2015}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|Polycarpa aurata|Polycarpa aurata}}
- [http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?enlarge=1351+3163+4288+0027 Image]
- [http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?enlarge=0000+0000+0505+1149 Image]
- {{sealifephotos|251001}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1534556}}
Category:Fauna of the Indian Ocean
Category:Fauna of the Pacific Ocean
Category:Animals described in 1834
Category:Taxa named by Jean René Constant Quoy
Category:Taxa named by Joseph Paul Gaimard
Category:Marine fauna of Northern Australia
Category:Fauna of the Philippines