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biodiversity explorer

the web of life in southern Africa

Genus: Salpa

Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa (animals) > Bilateria > Deuterostomia > Chordata > Tunicata > Thaliacea > Salpida > Family: Salpidae

Seven species worldwide, four of which have wide pelagic distributions that include southern African seas.

Species native to southern Africa

Information from World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS), unless otherwise indicated.

Salpa aspera

Widely distributed across all three oceans, from 45°N to 45°S, with confirmed records from off the east coast of southern Africa and from far out to sea (< 10°E) off the west coast (van Soest 1974).

 

Salpa fusiformis

The most widely distributed of all salp species, occurring from 70°N to 45°S in the Atlantic and Indian oceans, and from 50°N to 45°S in the Pacific Ocean (van Soest 1974). Recorded from the southwest coast of South Africa by Lazarus & Dowler (1979). Recorded from the Benguela Current region by Gibbons (1999). Van Soest (1974) provides records from the seas all round southern Africa.

 

Salpa maxima

A fairly abundant species found in all three oceans, from about 50°N to 45°S, and with confirmed records from off both the west and east coasts of southern Africa (van Soest 1974). Recorded from the southwest coast of South Africa by Lazarus & Dowler (1979).

 

Salpa younti

Widely distributed across all three oceans, from 40°N to 40°S, with confirmed records from off the west coast of southern Africa (van Soest 1974).

 

Publications

  • Gibbons MJ. 1999. An introduction to the zooplankton of the Benguela Current region. National Book Publishers, Cape Town.
  • 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 Soest RWM. 1974. A revision of the genera Salpa Forskål, 1775, Pegea Savigny, 1816, and Ritteriella Metcalf, 1919 (Tunicata, Thaliacea). Beaufortia 22(293): 153-191.

Text by Hamish Robertson