Genus: Pyrosoma
Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa
(animals) >
Bilateria > Deuterostomia >
Chordata > Tunicata >
Thaliacea > Pyrosomatida > Family: Pyrosomatidae
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Pyrosoma sp. [photos CL Griffiths
©] |
Four species worldwide, all of which have wide
pelagic distributions that include, or are likely to include, southern
African seas.
Species native to southern Africa
Information from
World
Register of Marine Species (WoRMS).
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Pyrosoma aherniosum
Widely distributed in warm water of all oceans, from 30ºN to 30ºS. Recorded
from southern African waters. |
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Pyrosoma atlanticum
Regarded as the most widely spread and common
pyrosomatid occurring in all oceans
from 50ºN to 50ºS. |
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Pyrosoma godeauxi
Recorded from the northern Mozambique channel. No records from southern
African seas but distribution probably does extend into this region via the
Mozambique current. |
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Pyrosoma ovatum
Recorded from the mid-South Atlantic and from the seas off India (van Soest
1981) but probably occurs in the waters inbetween, including southern
African waters. |
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Publications
- Deibel D., and Lowen B. 2011. A review of the life cycles
and life-history adaptations of pelagic tunicates to
environmental conditions. – ICES Journal of Marine Science,
doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsr159.
- Lazarus, B. I. and D. Dowler. 1979. Pelagic tunicata off the
west and south-west coasts of South Africa, 1964-1965. Fish.
Bull. S. Afr. 12:93-119.
- Van Zyl, R. P. 1960. A preliminary study of the salps and
doliolids off the west and south coasts of South Africa.
Investigational Rept. Div. Fisheries, Union of South Africa.
v.40, 31p.
Text by Hamish Robertson |
