Genus: Microcosmus
Life > Eukaryotes > Opisthokonta > Metazoa
(animals) >
Bilateria > Deuterostomia >
Chordata > Tunicata >
Ascidiacea (sea squirts) > Stolidobranchia > Family:
Pyuridae
A total of 37 species
worldwide, with five species native to southern African seas and a further
species that is naturalised in the region.
Species native to southern Africa
Information from Monniot et al. (2001)
and World
Register of Marine Species (WoRMS).
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Microcosmus albidus
Recorded from St Francis Bay (Eastern Cape, South Africa) at a depth of 100
m. |
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Microcosmus exasperatus
Distribution includes European waters, the Azores, Gulf of Mexico,
Mediterranean Sea, Mozambique and South Africa. |
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Microcosmus oligophyllus Recorded
from the lower intertidal zone of Miller's Point, False Bay, and from
Gerickespunt near Sedgefield. Both localities fall within the Western Cape,
South Africa. |
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Microcosmus psammiferus The only
record is from a wreck on Mossel Bay beach, Western Cape, South Africa. |
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Microcosmus trigonimus Recorded
from Durban (KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa). |
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Species naturalised in southern Africa
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Microcosmus squamiger (Blunt-spined microcosmus)
An Australian species that has colonized other parts of the world, including
South Africa, where it is now common in harbours and marinas, ranging from
Richard's Bay (KwaZulu-Natal) to Mossel Bay (Western Cape) (Picker and
Griffiths 2011) . |
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Publications
- Monniot C, Monniot F and Griffiths CL. 2001. South African
ascidians. Annals of the South African Museum 108(1): 1-141.
- Picker M and Griffiths C. 2011. Alien and Invasive Animals -
A South African Perspective. Struik Nature, Cape Town.
Text by Hamish Robertson |
