Draft:Pyrosomatinae

• Comment: iNaturalist is not reliable in this case, as its source of information is the Wikipedia article fr Pyrosomatidae, and you cannot cite Wikipedia on Wikipedia. You should also work on cleaning up the grammar and clarity issues, although fixing them is not required for acceptance. Just remove the iNaturalist source and find out where the Wikipedia article it used got its information for that statement. UserMemer (chat) Tribs 11:55, 26 October 2024 (UTC)

• Comment: Not ready for a standalone article. Safari Scribe^{Edits! Talk!} 07:42, 20 October 2024 (UTC)

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Pyrosomatinae
Pyrosoma atlanticum
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Tunicata
Class:	Thaliacea
Order:	Pyrosomatida
Family:	Pyrosomatidae
Subfamily:	Pyrosomatinae Lahille, 1888
Type species
Pyrosoma atlanticum Péron, 1804

Pyrosomatinae is a subfamily of tunicates.

Description

Pyrosomatinae colonies can be cylindrical or cone-shaped, ranging from a few centimeters to a couple of inches or feet in length, and are composed of hundreds of individual zooids. These colonies can vary significantly in size, from less than a centimeter to several feet in length. Each zooid, although only a few millimeters in size, is embedded in a common gelatinous tunic that unites all individuals within the colony. Zooids open both to the inside and outside of the tube-shaped colony, drawing ocean water inward through an internal filtering mesh known as the branchial basket. This process allows them to extract microscopic plant cells on which they feed, subsequently expelling the filtered water into the interior of the colony. The external appearance of the colony is bumpy, with each bump representing a single zooid, while the interior is relatively smooth, punctuated by openings for each zooid. They commonly appear pink.

Taxonomy

Two genera and 6 species are recognized:

• Subfamily Pyrosomatinae Lahille, 1888
  • Genus Pyrosoma Péron, 1804
    • Pyrosoma aherniosum Seeliger, 1895
    • Pyrosoma atlanticum Péron, 1804
    • Pyrosoma godeauxi van Soest, 1981
    • Pyrosoma ovatum Neumann, 1909
  • Genus Pyrosomella van Soest, 1979
    • Pyrosomella operculata (Neumann, 1909)
    • Pyrosomella verticillata (Neumann, 1909)

Blooms

Pyrosomatinae often make giant blooms manly in Alaska and Africa where they reproduce and bloom in great numbers commonly killing off native fish and then the fishing industry cannot catch many fish, and they break fishing nets often starving people. The most invasive species is Pyrosoma atlanticum where from Washington to British Columbia are extremely invasive.

Bioluminescence

Although many planktonic organisms are bioluminescent, pyrosome bioluminescence is unusual in its brilliance and sustained light emission. Thomas Huxley recorded the following about a sighting:

"I have just watched the moon set in all her glory, and looked at those lesser moons, the beautiful Pyrosoma, shining like white-hot cylinders in the water" (T.H. Huxley, 1849).

Section through the wall of a pyrosome (magnified) showing a single layer of ascidiozooids: (br) branchial orifice; (at) atrial orifice; (tp) process of the test; (br s) branchial sac

Pyrosomes often exhibit waves of light passing back and forth through the colony, as each individual zooid detects light and then emits light in response. Each zooid contains a pair of light organs located near the outside surface of the tunic, which are packed with luminescent organelles that may be intracellular bioluminescent bacteria. The waves of bioluminescence that move within a colony are apparently not propagated by neurons, but by a photic stimulation process. Flashing zooids not only stimulate other zooids within the colony to luminesce, but nearby colonies will also display bioluminescence in response. Colonies will luminesce in response to touch, as well as to light. We think pyrosomes use their bioluminescence to communicate and scare of predators like turtles.