Leathery sea squirt
Styela clava
Herdman, 1881
USGS - http://nas.er.usgs.gov/tunicates/
Taxonomy
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Tunicata |
| Class: | Ascidiacea |
| Order: | Pleurogona |
| Suborder: | Stolidobranchia |
| Family: | Styelidae |
| Genus: | Styela |
Description
Diagram
Diagram adapted from Kott, 1985; Christiansen and Thomsen, 1981
Similar Species
MORE (Common Names, Synonyms, Identification Notes, Similar Species, Morphology)...
Reproduction and Growth
Habitat
Feeding Preferences
Trophic status: Suspension Feeder
S. clava feeds on suspended matter such as phytoplankton, zooplankton and organic materials.
Predators
Impacts
MORE (Impact information)...
Vectors
| Fisheries | |
| - | Fisheries: accidental with deliberate translocations of fish or shellfish |
| Shipping | |
| - | Ships: accidental as attached or free-living fouling organisms |
Control Options
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Additional Information
Key References
Berman, J., Harris, L., Lambert, W., Buttrick, M., Dufresne, M. (1992). Recent invasions of the Gulf of Maine: three contrasting ecological histories. Conservation and Biology 6:435-441.Christiansen, J. , Thomsen, J. C. (1981). Styela clava Herdman, 1882, a species new to the Danish fauna (Tunicata, Ascidiacea). Steenstrupia 7:15-24.
Eno, C.N., Clark, R.A., Sanderson, W.G., (1997). Non-native marine species in British waters: a review and directory. Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), Peterborough.
Holmes, N. (1976). Occurrence of the ascidian Styela clava Herdman in Hobsons Bay, Victoria: a new record for the southern hemisphere. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 88(1-2):115-116.
Kott, P. (1985). The Australian Ascidiacea. Part 1: Phlebobranchia and Stolidobranchia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 23:1-438.
Lambert, C.C., Lambert, G (1998). Non-indigenous ascidians in southern California harbors and marinas. Marine Biology 130:675-688.
Lutzen, J. (1999). Styela clava Herdman (Urochordata, Ascidiacea), a successful immigrant to North-West Europe: ecology, propagation and chronology of spread. Helgolaender Meeresuntersuchungen 52:383-391.
Millar, R.H. (1960). The identity of the ascidians Styela mammiculata Carlisle and S. clava Herdman. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 39:509-511.
Osman, R.W., Whitlatch, R.B. (1999). Ecological interactions of invading ascidians within epifaunal communities of southern New England. IN: Marine bioinvasions: Proceedings of conference January 24-27 1999, (Pederson, J. Eds) Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts164-174.