Microscosmus exasperatus is a species of tunicate in the family, Pyuridae, and was first described in 1878 by Camill Heller.[1][2]
| Microcosmus exasperatus | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Subphylum: | Tunicata |
| Class: | Ascidiacea |
| Order: | Stolidobranchia |
| Family: | Pyuridae |
| Genus: | Microcosmus |
| Species: | M. exasperatus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Microcosmus exasperatus Heller, 1878
| |
It is found in the warm, temperate and tropical seas[3] of Australia, where it is found on the coastal shelves of New South Wales, the Northern Territory, Queensland, and Western Australia.[1] It is also found in seas off the West Indies, east Africa and in the Red Sea.[1] It has been found on many substrates including "pilings, stones, mangrove roots, and coral reefs, buoys, floats, and vessel hulls".[3]
It is an invasive species, and is now found in the central and eastern Mediterranean, and Pacific oceanic islands.[3] (The Smithsonian considers its native range to be the eastern and western tropical Atlantic, and the Indo-West Pacific.)[3]
This species is often confused with Microcosmus squamiger but has longer spines.[3] It feeds on phytoplankton.[3]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Species Microcosmus exasperatus Heller, 1878". Australian Faunal Directory. Australian Government. Retrieved 27 July 2024.
- ^ Camill Heller (1878). "Beiträge zur nähern Kenntnis der Tunicaten". Sitzungsberichte der Akademie der Wissenschaften mathematisch-naturwissenschaftliche Klasse (in German). 77 (1): 1-28 [17]. ISSN 0723-9319. Wikidata Q127657898.
- ^ a b c d e f "Microcosmus exasperatus". invasions.si.edu. Retrieved 27 July 2024.