Botryllus anceps (White-ringed ascidian)

Indo-West Pacific (WoRMS). Occurs on most of the southern African coast, from Namibia to KwaZulu-Natal, at depths of up to 10 m.

Botryllus closionis

Recorded from Sea Point, Cape Town.

Botryllus elegans (Seaweed ascidian)

Ranges from Namibia to southern Mozambique.

Botryllus gregalis (Variable ascidian)

Recorded from Saldanha Bay, round the coast of southern Africa and up the east coast of Africa, to the Arabian Gulf. Occurs at depths of 8-12 m.

Botryllus maeandrius (Meandering ascidian)

Branch et al. (2010) show the distribution extending from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth. Fairly commonly found under intertidal boulders and in in the shallow subtidal zone.

Botryllus mortenseni

Recorded 22 miles south-west of Cape Point (Western Cape, South Africa), at a depth of 55 m. Also recorded from rock pools at Isipingo, KwaZulu-Natal.

Botryllus planus

Distribution includes West Central Pacific, Western South Atlantic and Mozambique.

Botryllus schlosseri (Star sea squirt, Golden star ascidian)

Considered to be native to Europe. Introduced to other parts of the world, including South Africa where it has been recorded in harbours from Alexander Bay to Durban (Picker and Griffiths 2011).