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 |