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Species
Botrylloides violaceus Oka, 1927
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EOL Text
Botrylloides violaceus is a colonial sea squirt forming lobed sheets usually 2-3 mm in thickness. Individual colonies are always one colour. The colonies can be different colours, e.g. dark brown, brick red, orange, purple and yellow. The zooids are arranged in a variety of ways, roughly oval groups or meandering, occasionally branching, double rows or chains.A non-native species from Japan recorded in the UK for the first time in 2004. The one-toned colouration of Botrylloides violaceus distinguishes it from Botrylloides leachi and Botryllus schlosseri. Furthermore, Botryllus schlosseri has star-like zooid arrangements.
Depending on the season (July to September) it is possible to see the larvae within the colony due to their large size and spherical shape. The larvae are brooded separately from the zooids and are usually a dark pink or purple regardless of the colony colour so stand out and are large enough to see without a hand lens. (Larval information; G. Lambert pers. comm.). The released tadpole larvae have a ring of 25-30 vascular ampullae around the trunk (see image).
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1998-2011, The Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |
Source | http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=2791 |
United States
Origin: Exotic
Regularity: Regularly occurring
Currently: Present
Confidence: Confident
Type of Residency: Year-round
Botrylloides violaceus has been introduced to the Northeast Pacific, with confirmed records from Alaska to Baja California, Mexico. In addition, this species has been reported from several other locations around the world, including parts of northeast United States and Canada, Great Britain, Europe, the Mediterranean, and Australia. It is native to the Northwest Pacific, with a distribution from Siberia and Japan to southern China.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Frey, Melissa, Frey, Melissa, Marine Invaders of the NE Pacific |
Source | http://marineinvaders.lifedesks.org/pages/599 |
In the Northeast Pacific, Botrylloides violaceus is most similar to B. diegensis Ritter and Forsyth, 1917 and two other non-native botryllid species found in the region, B. perspicuus (Herdman, 1886) and Botryllus schlosseri (Pallas, 1766).
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Frey, Melissa, Frey, Melissa, Marine Invaders of the NE Pacific |
Source | http://marineinvaders.lifedesks.org/pages/599 |
Depth range based on 542 specimens in 2 taxa.
Water temperature and chemistry ranges based on 3 samples.
Environmental ranges
Depth range (m): 1 - 6
Temperature range (°C): 28.897 - 28.954
Nitrate (umol/L): 0.068 - 0.099
Salinity (PPS): 34.131 - 34.171
Oxygen (ml/l): 4.525 - 4.549
Phosphate (umol/l): 0.108 - 0.113
Silicate (umol/l): 1.579 - 1.596
Graphical representation
Depth range (m): 1 - 6
Temperature range (°C): 28.897 - 28.954
Nitrate (umol/L): 0.068 - 0.099
Salinity (PPS): 34.131 - 34.171
Oxygen (ml/l): 4.525 - 4.549
Phosphate (umol/l): 0.108 - 0.113
Silicate (umol/l): 1.579 - 1.596
Note: this information has not been validated. Check this *note*. Your feedback is most welcome.
License | http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Ocean Biogeographic Information System |
Source | http://www.iobis.org/mapper/?taxon_id=412593 |
Found on artificial surfaces in shallow water, especially in harbours and marinas. Also found attached to macroalgae and other unitary sea squirts, for example Styela clava.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | ©1998-2011, The Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom |
Source | http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=2791 |
De gewone slingerzakpijp Botrylloides violaceus is een kolonievormende zakpijp die voordien enkel terug te vinden was in het noordwesten van de Stille Oceaan. Getransporteerd via scheepsrompen of vastgehecht op levende mariene organismen kwam de soort naar Europa vóór 1998, waar hij zich verder verspreidde door vasthechting op plezierjachten. Gevestigde kolonies van deze zakpijp werden langs onze kust voor de eerste keer waargenomen in 2004, in de haven van Zeebrugge. De soort valt op omwille van de verschillende kleuren (waaronder geel, oranje en paars) van verschillende kolonies. Ook binnen 1 kolonie kunnen er uitzonderlijk verschillend gekleurde exemplaren voorkomen.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License |
Source | http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=148715 |
The colony-forming sea squirt Botrylloides violaceus was originally only found in the northwest of the Pacific Ocean. Transported via attachment to ship hulls or to living marine organisms, the species reached Europe before 1998, where it spread further through attachment on yachts. Established colonies of this sea squirt were observed for the first time along the Belgian coast in 2004 in the port of Zeebrugge. Different colonies of this species are known to display different colourations (including pink, yellow and orange). Occasionally different specimens within a single colony can display a different colouration.
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License |
Source | http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=148715 |
The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.
There is 1 barcode sequence available from BOLD and GenBank.
Below is the sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.
See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen.
Other sequences that do not yet meet barcode criteria may also be available.
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Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 1
Specimens with Barcodes: 1
Species With Barcodes: 1