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Background The checklist of the ascidian fauna (Tunicata: Ascidiacea) of Greece was compiled within the framework of the Greek Taxon Information System (GTIS), an application of the LifeWatchGreece Research Infrastructure (ESFRI) aiming to produce a complete checklist of species recorded from Greece. This checklist was constructed by updating an existing one with the inclusion of recently published records. All the reported species from Greek waters were taxonomically revised and cross-checked with the Ascidiacea World Database. New information The updated checklist of the class Ascidiacea of Greece comprises 75 species, classified in 33 genera, 12 families, and 3 orders. In total, 8 species have been added to the previous species list (4 Aplousobranchia, 2 Phlebobranchia, and 2 Stolidobranchia). Aplousobranchia was the most speciose order, followed by Stolidobranchia. Most species belonged to the families Didemnidae, Polyclinidae, Pyuridae, Ascidiidae, and Styelidae; these 4 families comprise 76% of the Greek ascidian species richness. The present effort revealed the limited taxonomic research effort devoted to the ascidian fauna of Greece, which is attributed to the lack of experts and low sampling effort. Therefore, major knowledge gaps on the ascidian diversity of Greece occur and further research in this field is needed.

This study is the first inventory of ascidians from shallow waters (0–25 m) of coastal and reef habitats in the southern Gulf of Mexico where ascidian diversity is poorly known. Sampled environments in 14 locations (38 sites) with 134 samples collected from 2015 to 2017 included coral reefs, coastal lagoons, mangroves, seagrass, ports, and artificial platforms. The 31 identified species comprise 19 genera and 13 families. Ten species are newly reported in the Gulf of Mexico:AscidiapanamensisBonnet & Rocha, 2011;Ecteinascidiastyeloides(Traustedt, 1882);CystodytesroseolusHartmeyer, 1912; Eudistomaaff.amanitum Paiva & Rocha, 2018;EudistomarecifenseMillar, 1977;EuherdmaniafasciculataMonniot, 1983; Euherdmaniaaff.vitrea Millar, 1961;Polycarpacartilaginea(Sluiter, 1885);Botrylloidesmagnicoecum(Hartmeyer, 1912) andDidemnumgranulatumTokioka, 1954. Two new species will be described separately (Clavelinasp. andPyurasp.). This study provides the first records for 26 species ascidians for the region as well as describes increased distributions of ten Atlantic species. Thus, our data provide a starting point for future ecological, experimental and taxonomic studies of ascidians of the Gulf of Mexico.

Page, M. J. (2018): Colonial ascidians from the Foveaux Strait region of New Zealand. Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) 52 (17-20): 1157-1180, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2018.1450903, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2018.1450903

Photosymbiotic ascidian fauna were surveyed in the subtidal zone off Pari Island in the Thousand Islands (Java Sea, Indonesia). Nine species were recorded: Didemnum molle, Trididemnum miniatum, Lissoclinum patella, L. punctatum, L. timorense, Diplosoma gumavirens, D. simile, D. simileguwa, and D. virens. All of these species have been previously recorded in the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan. Diplosoma gumavirens and D. simileguwa were originally described from the Ryukyu Archipelago in 2009 and 2005, respectively, and all of the observed species are potentially widely distributed in Indo-West Pacific coral reefs.

Colonial animals are often lacking in taxonomic characters due to their small size and the simple morphology of zooids. Since zooid size is nearly uniform in many colonial ascidians, the stigma numbers in each row can be a useful taxonomic character. To evaluate their potential utility, we investigated intraspecific variations in stigma patterns in a subset of photosymbiotic didemnid ascidians, including five morphotypes of Didemnum molle , Lissoclinum midui , Trididemnum clinides , and T. nubilum . Stigma number patterns were almost stable in L. midui and T. nubilum . In contrast, there was considerable variation in stigma number even among clone zooids within the same colony in D. molle and T. clinides . Further, the stigma patterns did not differentiate the five morphotypes of D. molle . There was no significant correlation between the total number of stigma and the length of the thorax in any of the species examined here, suggesting that stigma number is probably invariable within each zooid. Stigma patterns can be usable as a taxonomic character in didemnid ascidians, particularly in species having one or a few patterns. Even in species with various patterns, the range of variation will be informative once such ranges are comprehensively described for didemnid species.

A collection of ascidians from 100–1000 m deep off the north-western coast of Australia has yielded 19 species, including one new, two possibly endemic to the north-western coast of Australia, four well-known Indo-west Pacific tropical species and 12 species known from the deeper waters of the western Pacific, of which 11 had not previously been recorded from off the western Australian coast or from other parts of the Indian Ocean. A third of these 12 species displays adaptations for a reduction in filter-feeding capacity, as do other known species from deeper slope and abyssal habitats. Nevertheless a connection with fauna of deep ocean basins of the Indian Ocean is not apparent at this stage. The full range of characters associated with species, genera and families are discussed, and those contributing to the identification of immature or mutilated specimens, as well as those relevant to an assessment of phylogenetic relationships, are emphasized.

Trididemnum shawi sp. nov. (Figures 12, 11D) Type material Holotype: NIWA 10872. Type locality: Fiordland, Crayfish Heights, Thompson Sound (45° 14.279’S, 166° 59.566’E, 10 m, 31 February 2006). Paratypes: Fiordland, Crayfish Heights, Thompson Sound (45° 14.279’S, 166° 59.566’E, 10 m, 31 February 2006, NIWA 87166); The Narrows, Long Sound (46° 03.829’S, 166° 44.16’E, 13 m, 28 February 2009 NIWA 49945, one colony); Nine Fathom Passage, Dusky Sound (45° 44.237’S, 166° 53.199’E, 16 m, 1 February 2009, NIWA 49960, one colony); Sunday Cove, Breaksea Sound (45° 35.89S, 166° 44.58’E, 10 m, 18 April 2012, NIWA 68138, 68139, 68140, 68141 and 68142). Etymology Named after Lance Shaw in recognition of his lifetime passion for conservation in Fiordland. Description The colonies of Trididemnum shawi sp. nov. are irregular shaped cushions reaching 150 mm long and 50 mm high. They have large terminal common cloacal apertures (5 mm diameter) located at the proximal end of upright lobes in the colony. The colony is supported by positive hydrostatic pressure and basal test core expanded into the centre of large common cloacal cavities that collapse on removal from water. Colonies are peach coloured (YR 7/8) with characteristic clusters of red pigment cells scattered randomly throughout the test (Figure 11D). The texture is gelatinous with zooids regularly packed around the outside edge and sparse spicules concentrated in a layer around zooid branchial apertures. The inner test below the zooid thoraces has no spicules. Developing larvae are present in the test surrounding posterior abdominal cavities in colonies from Breaksea Sound. The zooids are small, the thoraces measuring 0.45 mm and abdomen 0.8 mm long in contracted specimens. There are reticulated posterior abdominal canals running below a single layer of zooids. The canals connect to a central common cloacal cavity in the anterior half of the colony, the centre supported by an extension of the basal test. The zooid branchial aperture has six sharply pointed lobes, and the atrial aperture is a sessile opening in the centre of the thorax. The branchial sac has three rows of stigmata and a small lateral thoracic organ each side adjacent to the third row of stigmata (Figure 12A). The number and shape of stigmata are difficult to determine due to contraction of the thorax. There is a long retractor muscle originating from the base of the thorax. The gut has a smooth globular stomach and the intestine is wide with constrictions occurring between duodenum, posterior stomach and rectum (Figure 12A). There is a single large dome-shaped testis follicle with a vas deferens tightly coiled 10–11 times anticlockwise (Figure 12B); a large ovum lies on the anterior dorsal side of the testis. Developed larvae in colonies collected in April 2012 from Breaksea Sound (NIWA68138) are large (trunk length 1.1 mm) and have four stout lateral ampullae crowded each side of three slender adhesive papillae (Figure 12C). Zooids in these colonies have no testis, suggesting that the reproductive season has ended, but the brooded larvae are still maturing. Stellate spicules are present in a layer around the zooid thoraces and range in size from Remarks Of nine species of Trididemnum described with sessile atrial openings similar to Trididemnum shawi sp. nov., Trididemnum cyclops Michaelsen, 1921 and T. miniatum Kott, 1977 have only six, and T. nubilum Kott, 1980 seven coils of the vas deferens, compared with 10–11 for T. shawi sp. nov.. Trididemnum paracyclops Kott, 1980 from Australia and the Western Pacific has 10 coils of the vas deferens, but differs markedly in colony (forming thin encrusting colonies), zooid and spicule morphology, a zooid with a long oesophageal neck and larvae with only two adhesive papillae. Trididemnum poma Monniot and Monniot, 2001 from Saipan has a larva with a similar arrangement of adhesive papillae and lateral ampullae, but the larvae are significantly smaller (0.25 mm compared with 1.1 mm) than those of T. shawi sp. nov.. Furthermore, the colonies of T. poma are thin, brittle and encrusting compared with those of T. shawi. Both Trididemnum species recorded from New Zealand, T. sluiteri Brewin, 1958 and T. cerebriforme Hartmeyer, 1913, differ from T. shawi in possessing atrial siphons. Trididemnum shawi sp. nov. is distinguished from the majority of species in this genus by the presence of a sessile transverse atrial opening, a large number of coils of the vas deferens, cushion-shaped colonies with terminal common cloacal apertures and scattered red pigment granules in the tunic., Published as part of Page, M. J., Willis, T. J. & Handley, S. J., 2014, The colonial ascidian fauna of Fiordland, New Zealand, with a description of two new species, pp. 1653-1688 in Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) (J. Nat. Hist.) 48 (27 - 28) on pages 1676-1678, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2014.896487, http://zenodo.org/record/5193878, {"references":["Michaelsen, W. 1921. Ascidien vom westlichen Indeschen Ozean aus dem Reichmuseum zu Stockholm. Arkiv foer Zoologi. 13: 1 - 25.","Kott, P. 1977 Algal-supporting didemnid ascidians for the Great Barrier Reef. In: Proceedings of the Second International Coral Reef Symposium; Maiami: University of Maiami.","Kott, P. 1980. Algal-bearing didemnid ascidians in the Indo-west Pacific. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum. 20: 1 - 47.","Hartmeyer, R. 1913. Tunicata. In: L Schaltze (ed), Zoologische und Antropologische Ergebnisse einer For schungsreise im Westlichen und Zentrelen Sudafrica ausgefuhrt in den Jaren 1903 - 1905. Bd. 5. Denkschriften der Medizinisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft zu Jena 17: p. 124 - 144."]}

Page, M.J., Willis, T.J., Handley, S.J. (2014): The colonial ascidian fauna of Fiordland, New Zealand, with a description of two new species. Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) 48 (27-28): 1653-1688, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2014.896487, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2014.896487

Didemnum lithostrotum Brewin, 1956 (Figure 11F) Didemnum lithostrotum Brewin, 1956a: p. 127 –129, figs 3A 1, A 2, A 3. Didemnum lithostrotum: Millar 1982: 49, 51. Material examined New record: Caswell Sound, Paua Bay (45° 01.01’S, 167° 08.40’E, 20 m, 3 February 2009, NIWA 49980, one colony). Previously recorded: New Zealand: Chatham Islands (Brewin 1956a); Chatham Rise (Brewin 1956a); Stewart Island (Brewin 1958a). Description The pink/orange (YR 7/6) colony from Caswell Sound is 1 mm thick, encrusting on the brachiopod Liothyrella neozealandica. The test is divided into irregular polygonal areas, each with a central common cloacal aperture (Figure 11F). Spicules occur throughout the colony, although more are concentrated in a layer near the surface and at the substratum. They have eight rounded rays in optical cross-section and measure 40–70 µm in diameter. The zooids are 1 mm long in fixed material, the branchial aperture is relatively tall with six low pointed lobes, and the atrial aperture is smooth rimmed with a short simple lappet. The stomach is small and globular. There are two testis follicles with six to seven coils of the vas deferens. Remarks Possible synonymy of this species to Didemnum densum (Nott 1892) was mentioned by Millar (1982). We have placed the Fiordland colony in the species Didemnum lithostrotum based on the southern distribution of the holotype, and different morphology of the tunic (not in polygonal pattern in D. densum) and the branchial aperture lobes. The zooids in the current species are smaller than given by Brewin (1956a), but this is because they were contracted on collection and preservation. Didemnum densum in relaxed colonies has a branchial siphon with needle-like lobes whereas D. lithostrotum does not. An in-situ photograph by Stocker (1985) identified as D. densum shows polygonal pattern in the tunic; it could be a misidentification because this is an important character., Published as part of Page, M. J., Willis, T. J. & Handley, S. J., 2014, The colonial ascidian fauna of Fiordland, New Zealand, with a description of two new species, pp. 1653-1688 in Journal of Natural History (J. Nat. Hist.) (J. Nat. Hist.) 48 (27 - 28) on page 1680, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2014.896487, http://zenodo.org/record/5193878, {"references":["Brewin, BI. 1956 a. Ascidians from the Chatham Islands and the Chatham Rise. Trans Proc Royal Soc New Zealand. 84: 121 - 137.","Millar, RH. 1982. The marine fauna of New Zealand: Ascidiacea. New Zealand Oceanogr Mem. 85: 114 pp.","Brewin, BI. 1958 a. Ascidians of New Zealand. Part XI. Ascidians of the Stewart Island region. Trans Royal Soc NZ. 85: 439 - 453.","Nott, JT. 1892. On the composite ascidians of the North Shore reef. Trans Proc New Zealand Inst. 24: 305 - 334.","Stocker, LJ. 1985. An identification guide to some common New Zealand ascidians. University of Auckland Leigh Marine Laboratory, Auckland, New Zealand. 74 p."]}

Mead, A., Carlton, J.T., Griffiths, C.L., Rius, M. (2011): Introduced and cryptogenic marine and estuarine species of South Africa. Journal of Natural History 45 (39-40): 2463-2524, DOI: 10.1080/00222933.2011.595836, URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00222933.2011.595836

Didemnum biglutinum Monniot F. 1995 (Figure 2C–D, 5, 6) Didemnum biglutinum Monniot F., 1995:300 Fig.1, pls 1A, III D. Monniot F. & Monniot C.: 1996 152 Fig. 9 C, pl. 2D; 2001:266. Material. coll. Coral Reef Research Foundation. Palau, Koror, Ngermeaus channel, 07°11.65’N – 134°22.65’E, 18m, 28/VII/2007, 0CDN 9581-X (MNHN A2 DID. C 601). Papua New Guinea, New Hanover, Nusandaul Isl., 02°37.30’S – 150°28.78’E, 11m, 03/VII/2003, 0CDN 9049-U (MNHN A2 DID. C 529). Maldives, N. Male Atoll, 04°11.43’N – 73°25.05’E, 23m, 22/IX/997, 0CDN 5316 (MNHN A2 DID. C 458). The colonies are flexible sheets of varied colours: white, yellow, brown or purple, with often two different colours in a same colony (Fig. 2C–D). The colony surface is smooth due to a thin layer of tunic without spicules. The common cloacal apertures are numerous raised in short chimneys. The spicules 20 to 30µm in diameter are balls composed of numerous rods (Fig. 5) and are dense in the whole colony thickness; clumps of pigment cells are located in the basal layer. The common cloacal cavity extends at the thoracic level. In formalin the zooids and larvae are brown. The oral siphon is short. The atrial aperture uncovers a large part of the branchial sac and is devoid of a languet. The lateral thoracic organs are ear-shaped, vertical above the fourth stigmata row (Fig. 6B). The muscular appendage is attached for the most of the length of the oesophagus. Abdomen and thorax are about the same length: 0.5mm. A single testis lobe protrudes from the base of the gut loop with 8 to 9 turns of the sperm duct The larval trunk 0.5mm in length has 2 divergent adhesive papillae edged with 4 long vesicles on each side (Fig. 6A).. They are not gemmiparous. Remarks. Didemnum biglutinum is widely distributed in the Pacific and Indian oceans. Specimens from all stations have the same colony structure, same zooids and larvae. Kott (2001) synonymized D. biglutinum with D. albopunctatum (Sluiter, 1909).The specimens that she describes, however, differ in having an atrial languet and a common cloacal cavity which penetrates below the zooid abdomens. The larvae are said to have 4 pairs of lateral ampullae, but have more in her figure (Fig.69C). Sluiter’s description is very short, gonads and larvae are not mentioned. I have examined Sluiter’s material which corresponds to several species. Kott (1981) established a lectotype for a sample labelled ZMA TU 4433 in the Amsterdam Museum, but her statement is based only on the spicule shape, this colony having no gonads and no larvae.Thus even the genus identification must remain doubtful. Kott (2004:52; 2004:2488; 2005:61; 2007:1176) has identified several didemnids as D. albopunctatum, but did not describe gonads and larvae. Consequently I do not retain the synonymy proposed by Kott, based solely on the spicule shape., Published as part of Monniot, Françoise, 2010, Some new data on tropical western Pacific Ascidians, pp. 1-29 in Zootaxa 2561 (1) on pages 5-6, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2561.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5304193, {"references":["Kott, P. (2001) The Australian ascidiacea. Part 4, Aplousobranchia (3), Didemnidae. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 47 (1), 1 - 407.","Sluiter, C. P. (1909) Die Tunicaten der Siboga-Expedition. II. Die merosomen Ascidien.","Kott, P. (1981) The ascidians of the reef flats of Fiji. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South wales, 105 (3), 147 - 212."]}

Trididemnum lanugineum n. sp. (Figures 2B, 3, 4) Material. Palau, coll. Coral Reef Research Foundation, Koror, SW Ngeruktabel, 07°14.83’N – 134°21.12’E, 10m, cavern, 01/ VI /2008, 0CDN9584-A (MNHN A2 TRI 188). The white colonies (Fig.2A) are crusts several centimetres in extent with round edges and a raspy surface. In formalin the thickness is about 2mm, in 3 layers. The surface layer is hard, filled with large spicules 170µm in diameter with numerous sharp rays (Fig. 3), and contains the oral siphons. The thoraces are grouped in pillars of tunic linked to the medium spicule-free layer of tunic that has a cotton-wool texture. Abdomens and larvae are enclosed in this soft but very resistant layer. The basal part of the colony is densely filled with spiny spicules. At the contact with the substrate, the spicules are almost balls with very short rays. The oral siphon is trumpet-like with a plain rim, very often broken during the dissection. The cloacal aperture has a wide horseshoe shape. Its dorsal side is covered by a long languet applied on the dorsal lamina (Fig. 4B); the circular lateral thoracic organs protrude from its margin. The branchial sac has 3 rows of long stigmata: 7 were counted in the first two rows and 6 in the third row per side. A muscular appendage was not found. The abdomen (Fig.4A) is smaller than the thorax. The gut loop is included into an opaque tissue. The single testis vesicle is placed above the bend of the intestine circled with 4 (rarely 5) turns of the sperm duct. Several larvae were found into the cotton-like layer of the colony, they do not seem totally developed. The tail is wound in ¾ of a turn around a trunk 0.85 to 1mm long (Fig. 4C). The 3 adhesive papillae have parallel stems. On each side, at their base are 4 round vesicles, obviously incompletely formed lateral ampullae. The internal structure is obscured by large opaque cells filling the larval body wall (partly figured Fig. 4C). Ocellus and otolith lie in a clear dorsal vesicle. The anterior part of a damaged larva, found in shreds of tunic, has 3 adhesive papillae and 8 lateral vesicles on each side, suggesting that these vesicles may divide at maturity. The originality of this new species consists in the unique structure of the atrial opening, widely open with a large dorsal languet and very large spicules., Published as part of Monniot, Françoise, 2010, Some new data on tropical western Pacific Ascidians, pp. 1-29 in Zootaxa 2561 (1) on pages 4-5, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2561.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5304193

Lissoclinum timorense (Sluiter, 1909) (Figures 8D, 12B) Didemnum timorensis Sluiter 1909: 51. Lissoclinum timorense: Kott 2001: 328 Fig. 148 AB, 178C–E, without synonymy; 2004: 66. Material. Coll. N.J. Pilcher et al., Viet Nam, Con Dao Isl., Con Son Isl., 08°41.12’N – 106°36.80’E, intertidal, 30/VII/2008 0PHG 1736-U (MNHN A2 LIS 197). The colonies (Fig. 12B) are greenish crusts about 2mm thick with a round edge. The common cloacal cavity contains abundant symbiotic algae. The colony surface is raised in small warts filled with spicules. The zooids are small with the oral aperture in a slit, and a wide atrial aperture without languet. Seven stigmata are in the two first rows, 6 to 7 in the third row, and 5 in the last row per side. There is no muscular appendage. The testis is a single vesicle. The larvae are brooded in the basal layer of the colony, the trunk is 0.9mm long with 3 adhesive papillae and 8 ampullae on each side. Both the oozooid and blastozooids show 4 rows of stigmata. The spicules 45µm in diameter (Fig. 8D) are star-shaped with rays with a polygonal base, and made of fused rods. They have been compared to Sluiter’s specimen (ZMA TU 1274): they well correspond in size and shape. This species is very similar in shape, zooids and larvae to L. bistratum. It differs by the spiky colony surface and the spicules. It is distributed in the entire western Pacific., Published as part of Monniot, Françoise, 2010, Some new data on tropical western Pacific Ascidians, pp. 1-29 in Zootaxa 2561 (1) on page 12, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2561.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5304193, {"references":["Sluiter, C. P. (1909) Die Tunicaten der Siboga-Expedition. II. Die merosomen Ascidien.","Kott, P. (2001) The Australian ascidiacea. Part 4, Aplousobranchia (3), Didemnidae. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 47 (1), 1 - 407."]}

Lissoclinum roseum Kott, 2001 (Figures 8C, 11, 12A) Lissoclinum roseum Kott, 2001: 322 Fig. 145, 176BC, pls 4C, 20EF; 2004: 2514 Fig. 21G. Material. Coll. Coral Reef Research Foundation Malaysia, South china Sea, Lyang Lyang atoll, 07°22.12’N – 113°50.22’E, 6m, 23/IX/2006, 0CDN 9559-Y (MNHN A2 LIS 195). The very soft colonies are flat cushions with a smooth mucous surface. In life, the zooids seen in transparency appear in systems similar to botryllid rosettes in a vitreous red tunic (Fig. 12A). In formalin the zooid distribution disappears in a colourless tunic filled with opaque clear cells. The zooids are more or less completely enclosed in shells made of a layer of spicules, one thoracic and one abdominal. The thoracic musculature is strong and reduces the atrial opening. The lateral thoracic organs are protruding. There is no languet and no muscular appendage (Fig. 11). The waist is narrow and short without the muscular ring described by Kott (2001). (Some zooids of the type colony have been examined: only one of them possessed a muscular ring around the waist). Ten stigmata were counted in the first branchial row on each side. The ovary is pedunculate (Fig. 11), anterior to a single testis vesicle. The calcareous capsules made of burr-like spicules 25µm in diameter (Fig. 8C) are often incomplete or totally absent. No larvae have been found in the material studied to confirm the identification. The type and paratype have been examined (QM G308053 - G308312): they are in shreds, very contracted. The general aspect and consistency are similar to the Malaysian specimens, with the same clear cells of the tunic. The spicules are the same in shape and size. This species was previously recorded from west Australia and Queensland., Published as part of Monniot, Françoise, 2010, Some new data on tropical western Pacific Ascidians, pp. 1-29 in Zootaxa 2561 (1) on pages 10-12, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2561.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5304193, {"references":["Kott, P. (2001) The Australian ascidiacea. Part 4, Aplousobranchia (3), Didemnidae. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 47 (1), 1 - 407."]}

Numerous collections of ascidians have been made in the Pacific and Indian Oceans but the inventory is far from complete. Each sampling provides new species. Two new didemnids are described here from Palau and Vanuatu. New records are given for 22 additional species with complementary descriptions and underwater photographs. The tropical ascidian fauna is highly diverse and successive new collections show that many of the species are not only widely distributed from the central to western Pacific but also common to the Indian Ocean.

Didemnum rodriguesi Rocha & Monniot, 1993 (Figures 7C, 8B, 10) Didemnum rodriguesi Rocha & Monniot, 1993: 261. Monniot F. & Monniot C. 2001: 271 and synonymy. Material. Coll. N.J. Pilcher et al, Viet Nam, Con Son Isl., Con Dao, 08°45.48’N – 106°39.96’E, 15–20m, 27/ VII/2008, 0PHG 1679-J (A2 DID C 605). The colonies are pink or peach coloured (Fig.7C) in crusts. In life, the common cloacal openings are at the top of low elevations. The colony surface is smooth and does not show the spotty design described in previous collections. Orange inclusions are in the basal layer of the colonies. The zooids (Fig. 10) are small with 6 pointed oral lobes, a wide atrial opening without languet, a single testis vesicle circled by 7 turns of the sperm duct. The larval trunk measures 0.5mm, the tail is wound in ¾ of a turn (Fig. 10C). The 3 adhesive papillae are linked with a variable number of vesicles on each side: for example 6 to 8 on a side but 5 to 6 on the other side. The larvae are not gemmiparous. The stellate spicules (Fig. 8B) are dense with an average size of 30µm, but some of them reach 40µm. The geographic distribution is large covering warm waters of all oceans., Published as part of Monniot, Françoise, 2010, Some new data on tropical western Pacific Ascidians, pp. 1-29 in Zootaxa 2561 (1) on page 9, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2561.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5304193, {"references":["Rocha, R. M. & Monniot, F. (1993) Didemnum rodriguesi sp. nov., a new didemnid tunicate common to southeastern Brazil and New Caledonia. Annales de l'Institut Oceanographique Paris, 69 (2), 261 - 265."]}

Didemnum parau Monniot & Monniot, 1987 (Figures 7B, 8A) Didemnum parau Monniot C. & Monniot F., 1987: 3 Fig. 12 A–D, pl. IIG. Monniot F. & Monniot C. 1996: 159 Fig. 14A, pl. 2F; 20001: 270. Kott 2002: 37; 2007: 1187, Figs 3C,D, 9D. Material. Coll. Coral Reef Research Foundation, Palau, Southwest Isls, Helen Reef channel, 02°52.24’N – 131°44.55’E, 30m, 17/IX/2008, 0CDN 9802-O (MNHN A2 DID. C 603); Helen Reef channel, 02°59.48’N – 131°44.67’E, 20m, 29/IX/2008, 0CDN 9914-L (MNHN A2 DID. C 604). This species is common in the entire tropical Pacific. The colonies are always white (Fig. 7B) with spicules in spheres made of very numerous needles (Fig. 8A)., Published as part of Monniot, Françoise, 2010, Some new data on tropical western Pacific Ascidians, pp. 1-29 in Zootaxa 2561 (1) on page 9, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.2561.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/5304193, {"references":["Monniot, C. & Monniot, F. (1987) Les ascidies de Polynesie francaise. Memoires du Museum national d'Histoire naturelle (A) 136, 1 - 155.","Kott, P. (2002) Ascidiacea (Tunicata) from Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory, 18, 19 - 55.","Kott, P. (2007) New and little-known species of Didemnidae (Ascidiacea, Tunicata) from Australia (part 4). Journal of Natural History, 41 (17 - 20), 1163 - 1211."]}

Polysyncraton pseudomagnetae sp. nov. (figure 17E) Distribution. Type locality: Northern Territory (Darwin, Angler Reef, 10���12 m, coll. B. Glasby and party, 31 August 2002, holotype QM G308612). Description. The colony is a hard sheet mottled white and grey. Spicules are in the surface sometimes, especially over the common cloacal canals, mixed with black pigment particles. Also, there are aggregations of black pigment in the base of the colony. Zooids are along each side of the common cloacal canals that surround white zooid-free areas. White spicules are crowded throughout the colony and can be seen through the open common cloacal apertures, which expose the base of common cloacal cavity. In some parts of the colony the common cloacal canals expand into horizontal spaces, penetrating in amongst the thoraces, isolating them from one another, each with a ventral strip of test. Spicules are to 0.06 mm diameter and are of two types, some with pointed and others with flat-tipped rays. Spicules have 15���17 rays in optical transverse section. Zooids have a long thorax with eight stigmata in the anterior row, a short retractor muscle from the top of the oesophageal neck, a short, bifid atrial tongue and five coils of the vas deferens around four or five testis follicles. Remarks. This species has the same range of spicules as P. magnetae Hastings, 1931 and similar systems. However, the spicules are larger, the retractor muscle projects from the top of the oesophageal neck rather than from some way down it, and the present species has more coils of the vas deferens, P. magnetae having only three coils. Polysyncraton longitubis from South Australia has similar but smaller spicules with fewer rays and more coils of the vas deferens; and P. millepore Vasseur, 1968 has slightly smaller spicules, also with fewer rays. Polysyncraton pseudorugosum Monniot, 1993 (figure 17F) Polysyncraton pseudorugosum Monniot, 1993: 10; Kott, 2001: 123; 2002c: 33. Distribution. Previously recorded (see Kott, 2001, 2002c): Queensland (Hervey Bay); Northern Territory (Darwin, Bathurst I.); Coral Sea. New records: Northern Territory (Darwin, Angler Reef, QM G308598, Stevens Rock, QM G308600). Description. Both newly recorded colonies are flat lamellae, orange in life, with rounded margins produced out into short, rounded to cylindrical lobes. The colonies are hard and greenish yellow in preservative and the preservative is the same colour. Firm pillars of solid test extend through the depth of the colony, and are surrounded by circular common cloacal canals lined on each side by zooids, the ventral surfaces of the thoraces embedded in the pillars of solid test and the abdomina bent around into the layer of spicule-free test that lines the base of the common cloacal canals. The surface of the colony is depressed over the common cloacal canals. Spicules are large, to 0.09 mm diameter, stellate, with 9���11 conical, pointed rays and they are present throughout the colony except for the thin aspiculate layer of test lining the common cloacal canals. Zooids have a wide atrial aperture exposing most of the branchial sac directly to the common cloacal cavity and reducing the parietal body wall to a narrow strip along each side of the endostyle. Seven stigmata are in the anterior row. The vas deferens coils four times. Larvae are present in the basal test. The trunk is deep, 0.7 mm long with up to 12 lateral ampullae on each side of the antero-median adhesive organs. There is at least one blastozooid. Remarks. The newly recorded colonies of this well-characterized species are as previously described. The common cloacal canals, and the thin layer of aspiculate test lining them occur also in Polysyncraton peristroma, but the species have different spicules and are a different colour. The spicules resemble those of P. cuculliferum but are larger and they do not become sparser toward the base of the colony as they do in P. cuculliferum. The spicules that most closely resemble those of the present species are those of P. montanum, which is distinguished from the present species principally by the upright conical colony, as opposed to the hard, flattened lamellae of the present species., Published as part of Kott, Patricia, 2010, New and little-known species of Didemnidae (Ascidiacea, Tunicata) from Australia (part 2), pp. 2455-2526 in Journal of Natural History 38 (26) on pages 2483-2484, DOI: 10.1080/00222930701359218, {"references":["MONNIOT, F., 1993, Ascidies de Nouvelle-Caledonie XIII. Le genre Polysyncraton (Didemnidae), Bulletin Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, serie 4, 15 A (1 - 4), 3 - 17."]}

Lissoclinum stellatum sp. nov. (figures 13B, 21H) Distribution. Type locality: Tasmania (Tasman Peninsula, Waterfall Bay, Dog Leg Cave on rock wall, 10–12 m, coll. K. Gowlett Holmes, 3 July 1998, holotype SAM E2926). Description. The colony is sheet-like with brown pigment in the surface test intense around the large common cloacal canals. Crowded spicules are interrupted by oval vesicles in the basal and surface test. These vesicles appear as brown spots owing to the brown pigment in the test seen through these colourless, transparent vesicles. The ventrum of each thorax is embedded in the stand of solid test, which is surrounded by the deep primary common cloacal canals that extend the whole length of the zooid. The solid stands of test protrude slightly from the upper surface as rounded elevations. Common cloacal apertures are randomly distributed at the junctions of the circular common cloacal canals. The spicules are unique in this genus, usually stellate to 0.06 mm diameter with relatively few (five to seven) rays, often conical and pointed, but many with flat irregular or divided ray tips, and often the spicules are asymmetrical. Zooids are narrow, with about 10 long, narrow stigmata in the anterior row, a wide open atrial aperture exposing the whole of the branchial sac to the common cloacal cavity, a retractor muscle projecting from halfway down the oesophageal neck, an undivided testis and a straight vas deferens. The thoraces are kept extended in the preserved specimens by the firm stand of solid test in which the ventrum is embedded. Remarks. The common cloacal systems of the present species, like those of L. laneum and L. durabile Kott, 2001, have zooids partially embedded along each side of primary common cloacal canals that surround solid stands of test, and although these common cloacal canals may be deep (the whole depth of the zooid) they are not posterior abdominal as they are in many species of this genus. Although L. laneum has an undivided testis like the present species, it is readily distinguished by the absence of spicules. Lissoclinum durabile has two testis follicles and burr-like spicules and also is readily distinguished. The form of the spicules is very unusual for this genus, similar ones being known only in Didemnum (e.g. D. complexum Kott, 2001), and the form of the common cloacal systems are also more often encountered in other genera such as Leptoclinides and Didemnum., Published as part of Kott, Patricia, 2010, New and little-known species of Didemnidae (Ascidiacea, Tunicata) from Australia (part 2), pp. 2455-2526 in Journal of Natural History 38 (26) on pages 2514-2515, DOI: 10.1080/00222930701359218

Polysyncraton textus sp. nov. (figure 18C) Distribution. Type locality: Western Australia (8.5 n. mls NW of Port Hedland, 18 m, coll. J. Fromont on RV Soela, 5 August 1982, holotype WAM 556.88). Description. The colony is an extensive white sheet overgrowing worm tubes. It is white in preservative. Stellate branchial apertures with a margin of spicules are arranged around small intensely white unperforated areas of the surface. Deep primary common cloacal canals extend the full length of the zooids and surround circles of zooids with their ventral surfaces embedded in ligaments of test between the surface and base of the colony. Small spicule-filled papillae are crowded on the surface between the branchial apertures. An even layer of relatively crowded spicules is in the surface test and another less crowded layer is on the base of the colony. Spicules are sparse elsewhere. The spicules are small, stellate, to 0.037 mm diameter, with 15���17 relatively short and irregular, sometimes subdivided conical rays in optical transverse section. The ray length/spicule diameter ratio is about 0.2. Zooids have a tulip-shaped branchial siphon and a large bifid atrial tongue. The branchial sac is large, but the stigmata could not be counted. Three coils of the vas deferens surround four or five testis follicles, the outside coil encircling the base of a large egg. Larvae being incubated in the basal test have a trunk 0.85 mm long with the tail wound about three-quarters of the way around it. A corona of about 16 round-tipped lateral ampullae surround the three anteromedian ampullae at the anterior end of the trunk. The larval pharynx does not appear to be perforated, although the gut is differentiated and the otolith and ocellus are present. Blastozooids were not detected. Remarks. Relatively few species in this genus have stellate spicules similar to the present ones. Polysyncraton arafurensis Tokioka, 1952 and P. multiforme Kott, 2001 do have similar spicules although they are larger than those of the present species and are crowded throughout the colony. Other characters, such as the large bifid atrial tongue, the large larvae with relatively rudimentary larval organs but large number of lateral ampullae and the loose and relatively few coils of the vas deferens are characteristic of many Polysyncraton spp. Didemnum albopunctatum Sluiter, 1909 (figure 18D) Didemnum albopunctatum Sluiter, 1909: 58; Kott, 2001: 148 and synonymy; 2004. Distribution. Previously recorded (see Kott, 2001, 2004): Western Australia (Rowley Shoals), Queensland (Capricorn Group, Swain Reefs, Whitsunday Is), Indonesia, New Caledonia, Palau Is, Fiji. New record: Northern Territory (Dudley Bommies, QM G308627). Description. The newly recorded colony is soft and flexible, possibly due to the small spicules and the deep common cloacal cavity. They are whitish black in life with white rims around the common cloacal apertures. In preservative the colony is brownish grey on the surface, with white points where the spicule-filled lobes of the evenly spaced, stellate branchial apertures open to the surface. Linings of the branchial apertures are black owing to the pigment in the superficial layer of test that turns in to line the siphons. The pigment in the superficial layer of test is mixed with the small spicules and overlies a non-pigmented layer of test. Zooids cross the deep horizontal common cloacal cavities singly or in clumps with dark pigment and sparse spicules mixed in the test connectives that surround them. The abdomina especially are encapsulated in black pigment cells in the test. Common cloacal cavities do not penetrate the test posterior to the zooids, and the basal test is opaque and white with crowded spicules. Spicules are small (to 0.035 mm diameter) and globular with numerous flat-tipped, rod-like rays. Zooids have eight stigmata in the anterior row and six in the posterior row and a large open atrial aperture without an anterior lip. Remarks. This specimen has the usual small globular spicules and the black pigment of formerly described specimens, although the black squamous epithelium of the Swain Reefs specimen (see Kott, 2001) has not been detected. Didemnum candidum Savigny, 1816 (figure 18E) Didemnum candidum Savigny, 1816: 194; Kott, 2001: 157 and synonymy. Distribution. Previously recorded (see Kott, 2001): Queensland (Low Is), Western Pacific, West Indian Ocean (Tanzania, Mauritius, Malagasy), Gulf of Suez, Gulf of Arabia. New record: Western Australia (Houtman���s Abrolhos, WAM 557.88). Description. The newly recorded colony is about 5 mm thick with rounded margins and is smooth on the upper surface. The surface layer of test is thin. The common cloacal cavity is a horizontal space with thoraces crossing it in their own ventral strip of test. Abdomina are embedded in the relatively thick basal layer of test. A single sessile common cloacal aperture is on the surface. Spicules are crowded throughout the colony. They are relatively uniform with five to seven, and occasionally nine short, rod-like rays in optical transverse section. Zooids have a small thorax with a sessile atrial aperture without an atrial lip and a relatively large abdomen containing a long, curved gut loop. A long, tapering retractor muscle projects from about halfway down the oesophageal neck. The undivided testis is surrounded by seven coils of the vas deferens. Remarks. The specimen is as previously described for this species and the spicules are the usual stellate form with relatively few, short rod-like rays, differing from those previously described only in the maximum spicule size (0.07 mm diameter), which is more than previously reported for this species. Although previously known from the western Indian Ocean, the Arabian Gulf and its type locality in the Red Sea, this is the first record from the eastern Indian Ocean., Published as part of Kott, Patricia, 2010, New and little-known species of Didemnidae (Ascidiacea, Tunicata) from Australia (part 2), pp. 2455-2526 in Journal of Natural History 38 (26) on pages 2487-2489, DOI: 10.1080/00222930701359218, {"references":["TOKIOKA, T., 1952, Ascidians collected by Messrs Renzi Wada and Seizi Wada from the Pearl Oyster bed in the Arafura Sea in 1940, Publications of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory, 2, 91 - 142.","SLUITER, C. P., 1909, Die Tunicaten der Siboga Expedition Pt. 2. Die merosomen Ascidien, Siboga Expeditie, 56 B, 1 - 112.","SAVIGNY, J. C., 1816, Memoires sur les Animaux sans Vertebres, Part 2 (Paris: G. Dufour), 239 pp."]}

Polysyncraton montanum sp. nov. (figures 5B, 17C) Distribution. Type locality: South Australia (Kangaroo I., Pissy Boy Rock between Snug Cove and Western River Cave on rock wall, 8���10 m, coll. K. Gowlett Holmes, holotype SAM E3224). Description. In life the colony looks like a Leptoclinides, being a deep, slightly asymmetrical, mottled pink and white cone with a large terminal common cloacal aperture. The preserved colony is pinkish orange and the label is stained the same colour. The colony is smooth on the surface. Internally, bright orange zooids line the deep primary common cloacal canals surrounding test connectives to which the zooids are firmly attached, appearing to be in tight clumps. A thin superficial bladder cell layer is aspiculate but beneath that the spicules are crowded throughout. They are stellate, up to 0.08 mm diameter, with 9���11 conical pointed rays in optical transverse section. Zooids have large thoraces with a broad flat-tipped atrial lip. A long tapering retractor muscle projects from the oesophageal neck. Gonads were not detected in the newly recorded specimens, and the number of stigmata could not be counted. Remarks. The tropical P. pseudorugosum Monniot, 1993 (see Kott, 2001 and below) is not readily distinguished from the present species, having similar systems and spicules. However, it has a sheet-like colony with many common cloacal apertures rather than terminal ones like the present species. Other species of Polysyncraton with similar common cloacal systems and stellate spicules with 9���11 pointed conical rays are P. cuculliferum with smaller spicules (to 0.06 mm diameter) and P. sideris Kott, 2001 (with larger spicules to 0.14 mm diameter). The broad atrial lip resembles that of P. tegetum, but the spicule rays are never chisel-shaped. The colony is a similar colour to colonies of Didemnum fragum Kott, 2001 and has a similar terminal common cloacal aperture, but D. fragum has smaller zooids, lacks an atrial lip and has shorter spicule rays. The present species appears to be previously undescribed. Polysyncraton pedunculatum Kott, 2001 Polysyncraton pedunculatum Kott, 2001: 121 (part, not specimen QM GH2387, Flinders I., pl. 6D~ P. rica) and synonymy; 2004. Distribution. Previously recorded (see Kott, 2001, 2004): South Australia (Great Australian Bight, Nuyts Archipelago, Yorke Peninsular, Investigator Strait). New record: South Australia (Kangaroo I., SAM E3230). Description. The living colony is reddish tan, slightly translucent, biramous vertically ridged with a short, relatively narrow, basal stalk. Zooids are confined to the surface of the completely aspiculate colony. They are in irregular longish oval groups with primary common cloacal canals around each group. The test is soft and translucent. Zooids have the usual long, fine retractor muscle projecting from about halfway down the oesophageal neck. Three coils of the vas deferens surround a number of testis follicles. Remarks. Kott (2001) confused specimens of P. rica (which is only partially aspiculate with a smooth surface) with the present completely aspiculate, irregularly ridged species, which looks very different. The report of four coils of the vas deferens (Kott, 2001) is incorrect. Reexamination of the material has shown that there are three coils in all specimens., Published as part of Kott, Patricia, 2010, New and little-known species of Didemnidae (Ascidiacea, Tunicata) from Australia (part 2), pp. 2455-2526 in Journal of Natural History 38 (26) on pages 2481-2482, DOI: 10.1080/00222930701359218, {"references":["MONNIOT, F., 1993, Ascidies de Nouvelle-Caledonie XIII. Le genre Polysyncraton (Didemnidae), Bulletin Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, serie 4, 15 A (1 - 4), 3 - 17."]}

Trididemnum polyorchis Monniot F. & Monniot C., 1996 (Figs 31-34; 75B) Trididemnum polyorchis Monniot F. & Monniot C., 1996: 150, figs 8, 9A, B (Palau); Monniot F. & Monniot C. 2001: 264 (Philippines). MATÉRIEL EXAMINÉ. — Palau. Gonipora Coral Flat, inner portion of Sunken barrier reef, 2 km southeast of Lighthouse Reef, 7°15.99’N, 134°28.39’E, 27 m, 5.XI.2002, coll. P. L. Colin, 0CDN8696-M (MNHN A2 TRI 168). Philippines. Palawan, Honda Bay seagrass bed, 9°52.90’N, 118°49.01’E, 1 m, 18.IV.1995, coll. CRRF,0CDN3155-O (MNHN A2 TRI 120). Malaisie. Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Sulug Island, 5°58.08’N, 116°03.34’E, 8 m, 21.X.2005, coll. P. L. Colin, 0CDN9162-S (MNHN A2 TRI 182). DESCRIPTION Les colonies provenant de Malaisie et des Philippines sont extérieurement semblables à celles de Palau. Encroûtantes, dures, de 2 mm d’épaisseur les bords sont épais.La surface des colonies est lisse de couleur brun rouge (Fig. 75B), elle devient blanc verdâtre dans le formol. En profondeur dans les colonies on trouve des agglomérats très foncés. La couleur semble due à des symbiontes contenus dans la tunique fibreuse. Les zoïdes sont limités à la partie supérieure de la colonie, la couche profonde ne contient que des spicules denses. Le siphon cloacal est court (Figs 31A; 32A; 33A, B). Les organes thoraciques latéraux ont la forme de larges cupules circulaires au milieu du thorax. Il n’y a pas de tache noire en haut de l’endostyle. Il y a un espace imperforé antérieur à la branchie. Le nombre de stigmates est variable selon les zoïdes. Dans la colonie type, il y a 5 ou 6 stigmates dans le premier rang et 5 stigmates dans les deux suivants. Dans les deux nouvelles colonies de Palau, à 27 m de profondeur, on trouve successivement 7, 7 et 6 stigmates. Aux Philippines la branchie a 6 stigmates dans les 3 rangs. En Malaisie on compte 7, 7 et 6 stigmates. Dans toutes les colonies le muscle rétracteur s’isole tout à fait à la base du pédoncule thoracique,et pendant l’extraction des zoïdes de la colonie, il reste attaché à l’abdomen quand celui-ci se sépare du thorax. Dans tous les échantillons le testicule fait saillie sur le fond de la boucle intestinale (Figs 31B; 32B, C; 33C, D). Il est composé d’un nombre variable de vésicules. Chez la colonie type il y a 2 vésicules, mais parfois 3. Dans une autre colonie à Palau on trouve 3 vésicules et parfois 4, accolées, formant une sphère. Aux Philippines les testicules ont 3 vésicules, en Malaisie, les 3 colonies n’ont qu’une vésicule testiculaire. Cette variabilité est étonnante, mais il semble bien qu’il s’agisse d’une seule espèce si l’on considère les autres caractères anatomiques et les spicules (Fig. 34). Malheureusement ni ovaires ni larves ne sont présents dans ces spécimens pour confirmer notre hypothèse d’une seule espèce. Trididemnum tenebricosum (Sluiter, 1909) (Figs 35; 36; 75C) Didemnum tenebricosum Sluiter, 1909: 48, pl. 3 figs 14-16 (Indonésie, Roti island, 10°38’S, 123°25’E). MATÉRIEL EXAMINÉ. — Malaisie. Sarawak, SW peninsular Tanjung Datu, rock in center of bay, 2°01.70’N, 109°39.20’E, 7 m, 27.V.2003, coll. CRRF, 0M9I5793-H (MNHN A2 TRI 170). DESCRIPTION Selon les collecteurs, les colonies mesurent jusqu’à 45 cm, leur épaisseur atteint 1,5 cm dans les parties en mamelons et seulement 0,5 cm dans les portions planes. La couleur est d’un gris plus ou moins foncé avec des mouchetures noires et blanches (Fig. 75C). Les orifices des cloaques communs sont bordés de noir avec une marge sans spicules. Le contour des colonies est irrégulier et dépend du substrat. La face supérieure est lisse, repliées sur elles-mêmes les zoïdes sont en double couche, la tunique profonde étant commune aux 2 strates. Des pelotes fécales sont incluses dans la tunique. Les zoïdes les moins contractés mesurent 1 mm. Leur pigmentation foncée est due à de grosses cellules plates avec une vacuole claire centrale. Sur le thorax le pigment est réparti sur le cercle de tentacules, autour du ganglion nerveux, en cercle autour des organes thoraciques latéraux, le long de l’endostyle et à la base du thorax. Le manteau devient très foncé sur le pédoncule oesophago-rectal et sur l’abdomen. Le siphon buccal est étroit bordé de 6 denticules (Fig.35A). Le siphon cloacal est étroit en tube quand il est contracté, mais plus largement ouvert chez les rares zoïdes étendus. Un grand espace imperforé précède la branchie. Le nombre de stigmates n’a pas pu être compté mais chez la larve, la branchie embryonnaire compte au moins 10 stigmates dans le premier rang. Les organes thoraciques latéraux sont ronds, concaves, placés près du siphon cloacal au niveau du troisième rang de stigmates. L’appendice fixateur a son origine à la base du thorax, il est long ou court selon l’emplacement du zoïde dans la colonie. Les différentes parties du tube digestif sont bien individualisées et décrivent une boucle tordue (Fig. 35B). Une vésicule testiculaire occupe le centre de la boucle digestive (Fig. 35C). Six tours de spire ont été observés chez le seul zoïde ou la densité de cellules pigmentaires a permis de le voir. Les larves (Figs 35D; 36A) sont présentes dans les cavités sous-abdominales et dans la tunique sous les abdomens. Elles mesurent en moyenne 1 mm. La queue décrit à peine un demi-tour. Le thorax et le tube digestif sont bien différenciés. Les 3 papilles adhésives sont proches et longuement pédiculées. Elles sont entourées d’une couronne très régulière de 20 longs prolongements épidermiques. Les spicules (Fig. 36B) étoilés à rayons pointus mesurent jusqu’à 100 µm dans la couche supérieure de la tunique, ils sont un peu plus petits et plus irréguliers en profondeur. REMARQUES Le type de Sluiter (1909) (ZMA TU 481) de la station 301 de la Siboga Expedition a été revu. Bien que la description originale mentionne quatre rangs de stigmates, les zoïdes, en très bon état, n’en ont que trois. Des larves sont présentes dans la colonie type. Elles ont la même taille et la même structure que celles décrites ci-dessus. Les spicules et les cellules pigmentaires sont les mêmes. L’espèce est retrouvée pour la première fois. Par la structure de la larve, cette espèce se rapproche de Trididemnum textum Kott, 2001 qui a des spicules diff érents, des zoïdes et des larves plus grands et pas de cellules pigmentaires. Trididemnum discrepans (Sluiter, 1909) n’a pas de spicules, de nombreux stigmates et une larve à quatre à six paires seulement de vésicules épidermiques antérieures. Trididemnum nubis Monniot F., 1991, ne possède pas les grosses cellules pigmentaires, les spicules ont des rayons moins longs et n’ont pas la même disposition dans la colonie. Il n’y a pas d’espace imperforé antérieur à la branchie. Trididemnum savignyi (Herdman, 1886) a une couche vacuolaire superficielle avec un pigment foncé dans les colonies. L’examen du type a permis de trouver une larve (déposée au Natural History Museum, Londres). Celle-ci est gemmipare et mesure 2 mm, semblable à celles des colonies que nous avons récoltées en Guadeloupe et aux Bermudes. Les cellules pigmentaires sont différentes de celles de T. tenebricosum; la localité type étant inconnue, l’opinion de Van Name (1945) d’une origine aux Bermudes est vraisemblable.Toutes les autres identifications de T. savignyi dans le Pacifique restent douteuses. Trididemnum marmoratum (Sluiter, 1909) dont le type a été revu a des spicules très différents, mais une larve de même structure. Un pigment foncé, en traînées, est présent en surface des colonies.

Seventy‐eight species of Ascidiacea, including 21 new species from deeper waters (about 100 m and occasionally to about 500 m) off Western Australia appear to represent a diverse fauna not previously sampled. The relatively few solitary species taken include two possibly introduced (Styela plicata and S. clava). Large aplousobranch colonies dominate the collections. Aplousobranch species with numerous, small, deeply embedded zooids in massive three‐dimensional, vertical and often branched or stalked inflexible colonies supported by embedded sand (Polyclinindae) or calcareous spicules (Didemnidae) are common. Species with flexible stalks (enabling them to respond to prevailing currents) such as Clavelina meridionalis, Sigillina australis and S. cyanea were not taken often. Some known species (e.g. Synoicum chrysanthemum, and Atriolum tubiporum) previously considered rare were taken at these depths in significant numbers. Other unusual taxa (Pseudodiazona longigona and Condominium spp.) are recorded from ne...

Key to Didemnum 1 Spicules all stellate................... 2 – Spicules not all stellate (some globular or burr-shaped)....... 16 2 Spicules with no more than 9 rays in optical transverse section...... 3 – Spicules with more than 9 rays in optical transverse section....... 9 3 Spicules never more than 0.05 mm diameter........... 4 – Spicules more than 0.05 mm diameter present........... 5 4 Vas deferens coils 8 times; spicules with 5–7 short conical rays in optical transverse section.......... D. madeleinae F. and C. Monniot, 2001 – Vas deferens coils 6 times; spicules with 7–9 long blunt rays in optical transverse section.............. D. domesticum Kott, 2004c 5 Spicules crowded throughout................ 6 – Spicules not crowded throughout.......... D. corium sp. nov. 6 Colony surface quilted............ D. leopardus sp. nov. – Colony surface not quilted................. 7 7 Vas deferens coils 5 times.......... D. lillipution Kott, 2004c – Vas deferens coils 7–8 times................ 8 8 Vesicles interrupt spicules in surface test.... D. coralliforme Kott, 2004a – Vesicles do not interrupt spicules in surface test.... D. rota Kott, 2004c 9 Spicules crowded throughout................ 10 – Spicules not crowded throughout............... 14 10 Spicules not more than 0.03 mm diameter..... D. spumante Kott, 2004b – Spicules more than 0.03 mm diameter present........... 11 11 Surface of colony quilted............ D. cilicium sp. nov. – Surface of colony not quilted................ 12 12 Giant spicules to 0.1 mm present....... D. congregatum Kott, 2004b – Giant spicules to 0.1 mm not present............. 13 13 Spicule rays 13–15 in optical transverse section.... D. asterix Kott, 2004a – Spicule rays 9–11 in optical transverse section.... D. usitatum Kott, 2004c 14 Spicules crowded in surface layers, sparse in base of colony....... 15 – Spicules sparse throughout.......... D. fibriae Kott, 2004a 15 Spicules with 13–15 rays in optical transverse section; 10 coils vas deferens..................... D. spumosum Kott, 2004a – Spicules with 9–11 rays in optical transverse section; 7 coils vas deferens..................... D. tumulatum Kott, 2004c 16 Spicule diameter more than 0.06 mm....... D. aratore Kott, 2004c – Spicule diameter not more than 0.06 mm............ 17 17 Spicules crowded throughout.......... D. vesperi Kott, 2004c – Spicules not crowded throughout............... 18 18 Spicule rays sometimes pectinate........ D. diversum Kott, 2004a – Spicule rays never pectinate........ D. nambucciensis Kott, 2004a, Published as part of Kott, Patricia, 2005, New and little-known species of Didemnidae (Ascidiacea, Tunicata) from Australia (Part 3), pp. 2409-2479 in Journal of Natural History 39 (26) on pages 2416-2417, DOI: 10.1080/00222930500087077, http://zenodo.org/record/5215680, {"references":["Monniot F, Monniot C. 2001. Ascidians from the tropical western Pacific. Zoosystema 23 (2): 201 - 383.","Kott P. 2004 c. Ascidiacea (Tunicata) from Australian waters of the Timor and Arafura Seas. The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory 20: 37 - 81.","Kott P. 2004 a. New and little-known species of Didemnidae (Ascidiacea, Tunicata) from Australia (part 1). Journal of Natural History 38 (6): 731 - 774.","Kott P. 2004 b. New and little-known species of Didemnidae (Ascidiacea, Tunicata) from Australia (part 2). Journal of Natural History 38 (19): 2455 - 2526."]}

Key to Leptoclinides 1 Spicules stellate and mulberry-like, to 0.05 mm diameter L. complexum Kott, 2002a – Spicules stellate, to more than 0.05 mm diameter.......... 2 2 Spicules to 0.22 mm diameter with 9–11 rays in optical transverse section, crowded at the surface and less crowded toward base... L. grandistellus Kott, 2004a – Spicules not more than 0.1 mm diameter; distribution varies....... 3 3 Spicules to 0.06 mm diameter, 7–11 rays in optical transverse section.... 4 – Spicules to 0.08 mm diameter or more, 11–13 rays in optical transverse section. 6 4 Spicule rays 7–9 in optical transverse section; spicules in surface and lining common cloacal cavities................. 5 – Spicule rays 9–11 in optical transverse section; spicules present throughout colony................. L. frustus sp. nov. 5 Colony surface quilted............ L. prunus Kott, 2004b – Colony surface not quilted.......... L. decoratus Kott, 2004b 6 Spicule ray length/diameter ratio 0.1; spicules crowded throughout........................ L. cucurbitus Kott, 2004a – Spicule ray length/diameter ratio 0.3; spicules sparse throughout....................... L. tuberculatus Kott, 2004a, Published as part of Kott, Patricia, 2005, New and little-known species of Didemnidae (Ascidiacea, Tunicata) from Australia (Part 3), pp. 2409-2479 in Journal of Natural History 39 (26) on pages 2414-2415, DOI: 10.1080/00222930500087077, http://zenodo.org/record/5215680, {"references":["Kott P. 2002 a. Ascidiacea (Tunicata) from Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia. The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory 18: 19 - 55.","Kott P. 2004 a. New and little-known species of Didemnidae (Ascidiacea, Tunicata) from Australia (part 1). Journal of Natural History 38 (6): 731 - 774.","Kott P. 2004 b. New and little-known species of Didemnidae (Ascidiacea, Tunicata) from Australia (part 2). Journal of Natural History 38 (19): 2455 - 2526."]}

Key to Polysyncraton 1 Systems separate, circular or polygonal each with central common cloacal aperture; spicules always stellate.................. 2 – Systems not separate; spicules not always stellate.......... 4 2 Separate systems in elevated lobes; spicules to 0.07 mm with 7–9 rays in optical transverse section............ P. galaxum Kott, 2004b – Separate systems not in elevated lobes; spicules with more than 9 rays in optical transverse section.................... 3 3 Spicules to 0.1 mm diameter with 13–15 rays in optical transverse section.................... P. pavimentum Monniot, 1993 – Spicules to 0.08 mm diameter with 9–11 rays in optical transverse section....................... P. polysystema sp. nov. 4 Spicules all less than 0.05 mm................ 5 – Spicules not all less than 0.05 mm diameter........... 10 5 Spicules only in a layer at surface and sometimes on base....... 6 – Spicules throughout colony................ 8 6 Spicules with 9–11 rays in optical transverse section.. P. alingulum Kott, 2004c – Spicules with more than 11 rays in optical transverse section....... 7 7 Spicules with 17–19 rays in optical transverse section; four coils of the vas deferens.............. P. miniastrum Kott, 2004a – Spicules with 15–17 rays in optical transverse section; three coils of the vas deferens................ P. textus Kott, 2004b 8 Spicules stellate with long, thick rays....... P. catillum Kott, 2004b – Spicules with short conical, rounded, or truncated rays (sometimes globular).. 9 9 Spicule rays 9–11 in optical transverse section; colonies black; 10 coils of the vas deferens............... P. longitubis Kott, 2004b – Spicules rays 11–13 in optical transverse section; colonies not black; 8 coils of the vas deferens............... P. luteum Kott, 2004a 10 Spicules burr-like or globular................ 11 – Spicules stellate.................... 12 11 Spicules burr-like, present throughout colony.... P. reticulum Kott, 2004b – Spicules globular in thin plate at surface....... P. nivum Kott, 2004c 12 Spicules only in surface test................ 13 – Spicules throughout colony................ 16 13 Spicule rays long and spiky.......... P. turris Kott, 2004a – Spicule rays not long and spiky............... 14 14 Spicule rays 11–17 in optical transverse section.... P. arvum Kott, 2004c – Spicule rays 9–11 in optical transverse section........... 15 15 Spicule rays rounded............ P. linere Kott, 2004a – Spicule rays conical and pointed........ P. montanum Kott, 2004b 16 Spicule rays 7–9 in optical transverse section........... 17 – Spicule rays 15–17 in optical transverse section. P. pseudomagnetae Kott, 2004b 17 Spicules to 0.1 mm diameter......... P. rostrum Kott, 2004b – Spicules to 0.06 mm diameter......... P. peristroma Kott, 2004b, Published as part of Kott, Patricia, 2005, New and little-known species of Didemnidae (Ascidiacea, Tunicata) from Australia (Part 3), pp. 2409-2479 in Journal of Natural History 39 (26) on pages 2415-2416, DOI: 10.1080/00222930500087077, http://zenodo.org/record/5215680, {"references":["Kott P. 2004 b. New and little-known species of Didemnidae (Ascidiacea, Tunicata) from Australia (part 2). Journal of Natural History 38 (19): 2455 - 2526.","Monniot F. 1993. Ascidies de Nouvelle-Caledonie XIII. Le genre Polysyncraton (Didemnidae). Bulletin du Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Paris, Serie 4 15 A (1 - 4): 3 - 17.","Kott P. 2004 c. Ascidiacea (Tunicata) from Australian waters of the Timor and Arafura Seas. The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory 20: 37 - 81.","Kott P. 2004 a. New and little-known species of Didemnidae (Ascidiacea, Tunicata) from Australia (part 1). Journal of Natural History 38 (6): 731 - 774."]}

Key to Trididemnum 1 Spicules stellate, to 0.08 mm diameter...... T. pusillum Kott, 2004a – Spicules globular and burr-shaped, to 0.04 mm diameter T. reticulatum Kott, 2004a, Published as part of Kott, Patricia, 2005, New and little-known species of Didemnidae (Ascidiacea, Tunicata) from Australia (Part 3), pp. 2409-2479 in Journal of Natural History 39 (26) on page 2417, DOI: 10.1080/00222930500087077, http://zenodo.org/record/5215680, {"references":["Kott P. 2004 a. New and little-known species of Didemnidae (Ascidiacea, Tunicata) from Australia (part 1). Journal of Natural History 38 (6): 731 - 774."]}

Key to Lissoclinum 1 Colony aspiculate............ L. laneum Kott, 2004b – Colony not aspiculate.................. 2 2 Spicules stellate.................... 3 – Spicules not stellate (globular or burr-like)............ 4 3 Spicule rays pointed, 5–7 in optical transverse section.. L. stellatum Kott, 2004b – Spicule rays not pointed, 9–11 in optical transverse section L. scopulosum Kott, 2004a 4 Spicules crowded throughout......... L. diversum Kott, 2004b – Spicules not crowded throughout........ L. coactum Kott, 2004b, Published as part of Kott, Patricia, 2005, New and little-known species of Didemnidae (Ascidiacea, Tunicata) from Australia (Part 3), pp. 2409-2479 in Journal of Natural History 39 (26) on page 2417, DOI: 10.1080/00222930500087077, http://zenodo.org/record/5215680, {"references":["Kott P. 2004 b. New and little-known species of Didemnidae (Ascidiacea, Tunicata) from Australia (part 2). Journal of Natural History 38 (19): 2455 - 2526.","Kott P. 2004 a. New and little-known species of Didemnidae (Ascidiacea, Tunicata) from Australia (part 1). Journal of Natural History 38 (6): 731 - 774."]}

Lambert, Gretchen (2003): New records of ascidians from the NE Pacific: a new species of Trididemnum, range extension and redescription of Aplidiopsis pannosum (Ritter, 1899) including its larva, and several non-indigenous species. Zoosystema 25 (4): 665-679, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4525061, {"references":["ABBOTT D. P. & JOHNSON J. V. 1972. - The ascidians Styela barnharti, S. plicata, S. clava, and S. montereyensis in Californian waters. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 71: 95-105.","BERRILL N. J. 1975. - Chordata: Tunicata, in GIESE A. C. & PEARSE J. S. (eds), Reproduction of Marine Invertebrates. Vol. II. Academic Press, New York: 241-282.","BYRD J. & LAMBERT C. C. 2000. - Mechanism of the block to hybridization and selfing between the sympatric ascidians Ciona intestinalis and Ciona savignyi. Molecular Reproduction and Development 55: 109-116.","COHEN A., MILLS C., BERRY H., WONHAM M., BINGHAM B., BOOKHEIM B., CARLTON J., CHAPMAN J., CORDELL J., HARRIS L., KLINGER T., KOHN A., LAMBERT C., LAMBERT G., LI K., SECORD D. & TOFT J. 1998. - Report of the Puget Sound Expedition Sept. 8-16, 1998: A Rapid Assessment Survey of Non-Indigenous Species in the Shallow Waters of Puget Sound. Washington State Dept. of Natural Resources Nearshore Habitat Program, Olympia, 37 p.","COHEN A. N., BERRY H. D., MILLS C. E., MILNE D., BRITTON- SIMMONS K., WONHAM M. J., SECORD D. L., BARKAS J. A., BINGHAM B., BOOKHEIM B. E., BYERS J. E., CHAPMAN J. W., CORDELL J. R., DUMBAULD B., FUKUYAMA A., HARRIS L. H., KOHN A. J., LI K., MUMFORD T. F. J., RADASHEVSKY V., SEWELL A. T. & WELCH K. 2001. - Washington State Exotics Expedition 2000: A Rapid Survey of Exotic Species in the Shallow Waters of Elliott Bay, Totten and Eld Inlets, and Willapa Bay. Washington State Dept. of Natural Resources Nearshore Habitat Program, Olympia, 47 p.","COHEN C. S., SAITO Y. & WEISSMAN I. L. 1998. - Evolution of allorecognition in botryllid ascidians","DE KAY J. E. 1843. - Zoology of New York, or the New York Fauna. Part 5, Mollusca. Carroll & Cook, Albany, New York, 271 p.","FAY R. C. & VALLEE J. A. 1979. - A survey of the littoral and sublittoral ascidians of southern California, including the Channel Islands. Bulletin of the Southern California Academy of Sciences 78: 122-135.","HARTMEYER R. 1924. - Ascidiacea. Danish Ingolf Expedition 2 (7): 1-278.","HERDMAN W. A. 1881. - Preliminary report on the Tunicata of the Challenger Expedition. Part 3, Cynthiadae. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 11: 52-88.","HERDMAN W. A. 1882. - Report on the Tunicata collected during the voyage of H. M. S. Challenger during the years 1873-1876. Part I: Ascidiae simplices. Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of HMS Challenger 6: 1-285.","HOSHINO Z.-I. & NISHIKAWA T. 1985. - Taxonomic studies of Ciona intestinalis (L.) and its allies. Publications of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory 30: 61-79.","HUNTSMAN A. G. 1912a. - Ascidians from the coasts of Canada. Transactions of the Royal Canadian Institute 9: 111-148 (dated 1911, published 1912).","HUNTSMAN A. G. 1912b. - Holosomatous ascidians from the coast of western Canada. Contributions to Canadian Biology 1906-1910: 103-185.","KNIPRATH E. & LAFARGUE F. 1980. - Spicule formation in the Didemnidae (compound ascidians), in OMORI M. & WATABE N. (eds), The Mechanisms of Biomineralization in Animals and Plants. Proceedings of the 3rd international biomineralization symposium Tokyo, Tokai University Press: 31-36.","KOTT P. 1985. - The Australian Ascidiacea part 1, Phlebobranchia and Stolidobranchia. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 23: 1-440.","KOTT P. 1992. - The Australian Ascidiacea part 3, Aplousobranchia (2) and Supplement 2. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 32: 375-655.","LAMBERT C. C. & LAMBERT G. 1998. - Non-indigenous ascidians in southern California harbors and marinas. Marine Biology 130: 675-688.","LAMBERT C. C., LAMBERT G. & KOZLOFF E. N. 1987. - Chapter 23: Phylum Urochordata, in KOZLOFF E. N. (ed.), Marine Invertebrates of the Pacific Northwest. University of Washington Press, Seattle: 467-479.","LAMBERT G. 1989. - A new species of the compound ascidian Eudistoma (Ascidiacea, Polycitoridae) from the northeastern Pacific. Canadian Journal of Zoology 67: 2700-2703.","LAMBERT G. & SANAMYAN K. 2001. - Distaplia alaskensis sp. nov. (Ascidiacea, Aplousobranchia) and other new ascidian records from south-central Alaska, with a redescription of Ascidia columbiana (Huntsman, 1912). Canadian Journal of Zoology 79: 1766-1781.","MILLS C., COHEN A. N., BERRY H. K., WONHAM M. J., BINGHAM B., BOOKHEIM B., CARLTON J. T., CHAPMAN J. W., CORDELL J., HARRIS L. H., KLINGER T., KOHN A. J., LAMBERT C., LAMBERT G., LI K., SECORD D. L. & TOFT J. 2000. - The 1998 Puget Sound Expedition: a shallow-water rapid assessment survey for nonindigenous species, with comparisons to San Francisco Bay, in PEDERSON J. (ed.), Marine Bioinvasions. Proceedings of a Conference January 24-27, 1999. MIT Sea Grant College Program, Cambridge, MA: 130-138.","MONNIOT C. 1969. - Les Molgulidae des mers europeennes. Memoires du Museum national d'Histoire naturelle, zoologie 60 (4): 171-272.","NISHIKAWA T. 1990. - The ascidians of the Japan Sea. I. Publications of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory 34: 73-148.","NISHIKAWA T. 1991. - The ascidians of the Japan Sea. II. Publications of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory 35: 25-170.","OKA A. 1927. - Zur Kenntnis der japanischen Botryllidae (Vorlaufige Mitteilung). Proceedings of the Imperial Academy Tokyo 2: 67-68.","REDIKORZEV V. 1927. - Zehn neue Ascidien aus dem fernen Osten. Zoologische Jahrbucher 53: 373-404.","RITTER W. E. 1899. - A contribution to the knowledge of the tunicates of the Pribilof Islands, in JORDAN D. S. (ed.), The Fur Seals and Fur-Seal Islands of the North Pacific Ocean. Part III. Government Printing Office, Washington DC: 511-537.","RITTER W. E. 1900. - Some ascidians from Puget Sound, collections of 1896. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences 12: 589-616.","RITTER W. E. 1901. - Papers from the Harriman Alaska Expedition. XX. The ascidians. Proceedings of the Washington Academy of Sciences 3: 225-266.","RITTER W. E. 1907. - The ascidians collected by the United States Fisheries Bureau steamer Albatross on the coast of California during the summer of 1904. University of California Publications in Zoology 4: 1- 52.","RITTER W. E. 1913. - The simple ascidians from the northeastern Pacific in the collection of the United States National Museum. Proceedings of the US National Museum 45: 427-505.","RITTER W. E. & FORSYTH R. A. 1917. - Ascidians of the littoral zone of southern California. University of California Publications in Zoology 16: 439-512.","SAITO Y., MUKAI H. & WATANABE H. 1981. - Studies on Japanese compound styelid ascidians II. A new species of the genus Botrylloides and redescription of B. violaceus Oka. Publications of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory 26: 357-368.","SAITO Y., SHIRAE M., OKUYAMA M. & COHEN S. 2001. - Phylogeny of botryllid ascidians, in SAWADA H., YOKOSAWA H. & LAMBERT C. C. (eds), The Biology of Ascidians. Springer-Verlag, Tokyo: 315-320.","SANAMYAN K. 1998. - Ascidians from the Northwestern Pacific region. 4. Polyclinidae and Placentelidae. Ophelia 48: 103-135.","SANAMYAN K. 1999. - Ascidians from the Northwestern Pacific region. 6. Didemnidae. Ophelia 51: 143-161.","SANAMYAN K. 2000. - Ascidians from the northwestern Pacific region. 7. Styelidae. Ophelia 53: 67- 78.","TOKIOKA T. 1953. - Ascidians of Sagami Bay. Iwanami Shoten, Tokyo, 315 p.","TOKIOKA T. 1960. - Contributions to Japanese ascidian fauna. XVI. On some ascidians from the northern waters of Japan and the neighbouring subarctic waters. Publications of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory 8: 191-204.","VAN NAME W. G. 1945. - The North and South American ascidians. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 84: 1-476.","VERRILL A. E. 1871. - Descriptions of some imperfectly known and new ascidians from New England. American Journal of Science series 3, 1: 445.","ZANIOLO G., MANNI L. & BURIGHEL P. 1993. - Ovulation and embryo-parent relationship in Botrylloides aff. violaceus (Tunicata). Animal Biology 2: 139."]}

Leptoclinides sulawesii Monniot F. & Monniot C., 1996 Leptoclinides sulawesii Monniot F. & Monniot C., 1996: 180, figs 24C; 25A, C, pl. 4C. Type locality: Micronesia. MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Philippines. Mindanao, Davao, N side Talikud Island, Angel Cove Wall, 6°57.72’N, 125°40.94’E, 8 m, 27.III.1996 (MNHN A2 LEP 55). Palau. West Babeldaob, Ibobang, 7°30.58’N, 134°29.66’E, 7 m, 10. VI.1996 (MNHN A2 LEP 64). — Wonder Channel, 7°10.83’N, 134°21.67’E, 12 m, 10.VII.1996 (MNHN A2 LEP 68). Federated States of Micronesia. Pohnpei, Arau Channel, 6°93.75’N, 158°32.15’E, 10 m, 14.X.1996 (MNHN A2 LEP 63).

Leptoclinides oscitans Monniot F. & Monniot C., 1996 Leptoclinides oscitans Monniot F. & Monniot C., 1996: 177, figs 22; 24A, pl. 4A. Type locality: Indonesia. MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Palau. KB Channel, Airai side South of KB Bridge, 7°21.03’N, 134°30.95’E, 10 m, 2. VI.1994 (MNHN A2 LEP 54). — Wonder Channel, 7°10.83’N, 134°21.67’E, 10 m, 30.VIII.1996 (MNHN A2 LEP 65). — Ngemelis, Bailechesengel Island, Big Drop Off, 7°06.22’N, 134°15.06’E, 20 m, 26.XI.1996 (MNHN A2 LEP 67). Philippines. Mindanao, Davao, N side Talikud Island, Angel Cove Wall, 6°57.72’N, 125°40.94’E, 7 m, 27.III.1996 (MNHN A2 LEP 57).

Didemnum psammathodes (Sluiter, 1895) Leptoclinum psammathodes Sluiter, 1895: 171. Type locality: Thursday Island. Didemnum psammathodes – Monniot F. & Monniot C. 1996: 163, western Pacific. MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Palau. Koror, Ngerbeched seagrass bed, 7°20.02’N, 134°28.18’E, 1 m, 13.IX.1994 (MNHN A2 DID.C 339). Tonga. Tongatapu, Atata Island, 21°03.24’S, 175°15.47’W, 0.3 m, 25.XI.1997 (MNHN A2 DID.C 455)., Published as part of Monniot, Françoise & Monniot, Claude, 2001, Ascidians from the tropical western Pacific, pp. 201-383 in Zoosystema 23 (2) on page 271, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5391440, {"references":["SLUITER C. P. 1895. - Tunicaten, in SEMON R (ed.), Zoologische Forschungsreisen in Australien und dem Malagischen Archipel. Jenaische Denkschriften 8: 161 - 186."]}

Lissoclinum patella (Gottschaldt, 1898) Didemnoides patella Gottschaldt, 1898: 651. Type locality: Indonesia. Lissoclinum patella – Monniot F. & Monniot C. 1996: 174, Palau. MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Palau. Koror, Ngermechuangel, 7°19.13’N, 134°30.40’E, 1 m, 8.VII.1994 (MNHN A2 LIS 129). Philippines. NE Panay, Bayas Island off Estancia town, 11°26.50’N, 123°12.00’E, 1 m, 28.IV.1995 (MNHN A2 LIS 131). Papua New Guinea. Milne Bay Province, East Cape, Boia Boia Waga Island, 10°12.26’S, 150°44.75’E, 10 m, 27. V.1998 (MNHN A2 LIS 157)., Published as part of Monniot, Françoise & Monniot, Claude, 2001, Ascidians from the tropical western Pacific, pp. 201-383 in Zoosystema 23 (2) on page 284, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5391440, {"references":["GOTTSCHALDT R. 1898. - Synascidien von Ternate. Abhandlungen herausgegeben von der Senckenbergischen naturforschenden Gesellschaft 24: 641 - 660."]}

Trididemnum polyorchis Monniot F. & Monniot C., 1996 (Figs 31-34; 75B) Trididemnum polyorchis Monniot F. & Monniot C., 1996: 150, figs 8, 9A, B (Palau); Monniot F. & Monniot C. 2001: 264 (Philippines). MAT��RIEL EXAMIN��. ��� Palau. Gonipora Coral Flat, inner portion of Sunken barrier reef, 2 km southeast of Lighthouse Reef, 7��15.99���N, 134��28.39���E, 27 m, 5.XI.2002, coll. P. L. Colin, 0CDN8696-M (MNHN A2 TRI 168). Philippines. Palawan, Honda Bay seagrass bed, 9��52.90���N, 118��49.01���E, 1 m, 18.IV.1995, coll. CRRF,0CDN3155-O (MNHN A2 TRI 120). Malaisie. Sabah, Kota Kinabalu, Sulug Island, 5��58.08���N, 116��03.34���E, 8 m, 21.X.2005, coll. P. L. Colin, 0CDN9162-S (MNHN A2 TRI 182). DESCRIPTION Les colonies provenant de Malaisie et des Philippines sont ext��rieurement semblables �� celles de Palau. Encro��tantes, dures, de 2 mm d�����paisseur les bords sont ��pais.La surface des colonies est lisse de couleur brun rouge (Fig. 75B), elle devient blanc verd��tre dans le formol. En profondeur dans les colonies on trouve des agglom��rats tr��s fonc��s. La couleur semble due �� des symbiontes contenus dans la tunique fibreuse. Les zo��des sont limit��s �� la partie sup��rieure de la colonie, la couche profonde ne contient que des spicules denses. Le siphon cloacal est court (Figs 31A; 32A; 33A, B). Les organes thoraciques lat��raux ont la forme de larges cupules circulaires au milieu du thorax. Il n���y a pas de tache noire en haut de l���endostyle. Il y a un espace imperfor�� ant��rieur �� la branchie. Le nombre de stigmates est variable selon les zo��des. Dans la colonie type, il y a 5 ou 6 stigmates dans le premier rang et 5 stigmates dans les deux suivants. Dans les deux nouvelles colonies de Palau, �� 27 m de profondeur, on trouve successivement 7, 7 et 6 stigmates. Aux Philippines la branchie a 6 stigmates dans les 3 rangs. En Malaisie on compte 7, 7 et 6 stigmates. Dans toutes les colonies le muscle r��tracteur s���isole tout �� fait �� la base du p��doncule thoracique,et pendant l���extraction des zo��des de la colonie, il reste attach�� �� l���abdomen quand celui-ci se s��pare du thorax. Dans tous les ��chantillons le testicule fait saillie sur le fond de la boucle intestinale (Figs 31B; 32B, C; 33C, D). Il est compos�� d���un nombre variable de v��sicules. Chez la colonie type il y a 2 v��sicules, mais parfois 3. Dans une autre colonie �� Palau on trouve 3 v��sicules et parfois 4, accol��es, formant une sph��re. Aux Philippines les testicules ont 3 v��sicules, en Malaisie, les 3 colonies n���ont qu���une v��sicule testiculaire. Cette variabilit�� est ��tonnante, mais il semble bien qu���il s���agisse d���une seule esp��ce si l���on consid��re les autres caract��res anatomiques et les spicules (Fig. 34). Malheureusement ni ovaires ni larves ne sont pr��sents dans ces sp��cimens pour confirmer notre hypoth��se d���une seule esp��ce. Trididemnum tenebricosum (Sluiter, 1909) (Figs 35; 36; 75C) Didemnum tenebricosum Sluiter, 1909: 48, pl. 3 figs 14-16 (Indon��sie, Roti island, 10��38���S, 123��25���E). MAT��RIEL EXAMIN��. ��� Malaisie. Sarawak, SW peninsular Tanjung Datu, rock in center of bay, 2��01.70���N, 109��39.20���E, 7 m, 27.V.2003, coll. CRRF, 0M9I5793-H (MNHN A2 TRI 170). DESCRIPTION Selon les collecteurs, les colonies mesurent jusqu����� 45 cm, leur ��paisseur atteint 1,5 cm dans les parties en mamelons et seulement 0,5 cm dans les portions planes. La couleur est d���un gris plus ou moins fonc�� avec des mouchetures noires et blanches (Fig. 75C). Les orifices des cloaques communs sont bord��s de noir avec une marge sans spicules. Le contour des colonies est irr��gulier et d��pend du substrat. La face sup��rieure est lisse, repli��es sur elles-m��mes les zo��des sont en double couche, la tunique profonde ��tant commune aux 2 strates. Des pelotes f��cales sont incluses dans la tunique. Les zo��des les moins contract��s mesurent 1 mm. Leur pigmentation fonc��e est due �� de grosses cellules plates avec une vacuole claire centrale. Sur le thorax le pigment est r��parti sur le cercle de tentacules, autour du ganglion nerveux, en cercle autour des organes thoraciques lat��raux, le long de l���endostyle et �� la base du thorax. Le manteau devient tr��s fonc�� sur le p��doncule oesophago-rectal et sur l���abdomen. Le siphon buccal est ��troit bord�� de 6 denticules (Fig.35A). Le siphon cloacal est ��troit en tube quand il est contract��, mais plus largement ouvert chez les rares zo��des ��tendus. Un grand espace imperfor�� pr��c��de la branchie. Le nombre de stigmates n���a pas pu ��tre compt�� mais chez la larve, la branchie embryonnaire compte au moins 10 stigmates dans le premier rang. Les organes thoraciques lat��raux sont ronds, concaves, plac��s pr��s du siphon cloacal au niveau du troisi��me rang de stigmates. L���appendice fixateur a son origine �� la base du thorax, il est long ou court selon l���emplacement du zo��de dans la colonie. Les diff��rentes parties du tube digestif sont bien individualis��es et d��crivent une boucle tordue (Fig. 35B). Une v��sicule testiculaire occupe le centre de la boucle digestive (Fig. 35C). Six tours de spire ont ��t�� observ��s chez le seul zo��de ou la densit�� de cellules pigmentaires a permis de le voir. Les larves (Figs 35D; 36A) sont pr��sentes dans les cavit��s sous-abdominales et dans la tunique sous les abdomens. Elles mesurent en moyenne 1 mm. La queue d��crit �� peine un demi-tour. Le thorax et le tube digestif sont bien diff��renci��s. Les 3 papilles adh��sives sont proches et longuement p��dicul��es. Elles sont entour��es d���une couronne tr��s r��guli��re de 20 longs prolongements ��pidermiques. Les spicules (Fig. 36B) ��toil��s �� rayons pointus mesurent jusqu����� 100 ��m dans la couche sup��rieure de la tunique, ils sont un peu plus petits et plus irr��guliers en profondeur. REMARQUES Le type de Sluiter (1909) (ZMA TU 481) de la station 301 de la Siboga Expedition a ��t�� revu. Bien que la description originale mentionne quatre rangs de stigmates, les zo��des, en tr��s bon ��tat, n���en ont que trois. Des larves sont pr��sentes dans la colonie type. Elles ont la m��me taille et la m��me structure que celles d��crites ci-dessus. Les spicules et les cellules pigmentaires sont les m��mes. L���esp��ce est retrouv��e pour la premi��re fois. Par la structure de la larve, cette esp��ce se rapproche de Trididemnum textum Kott, 2001 qui a des spicules diff ��rents, des zo��des et des larves plus grands et pas de cellules pigmentaires. Trididemnum discrepans (Sluiter, 1909) n���a pas de spicules, de nombreux stigmates et une larve �� quatre �� six paires seulement de v��sicules ��pidermiques ant��rieures. Trididemnum nubis Monniot F., 1991, ne poss��de pas les grosses cellules pigmentaires, les spicules ont des rayons moins longs et n���ont pas la m��me disposition dans la colonie. Il n���y a pas d���espace imperfor�� ant��rieur �� la branchie. Trididemnum savignyi (Herdman, 1886) a une couche vacuolaire superficielle avec un pigment fonc�� dans les colonies. L���examen du type a permis de trouver une larve (d��pos��e au Natural History Museum, Londres). Celle-ci est gemmipare et mesure 2 mm, semblable �� celles des colonies que nous avons r��colt��es en Guadeloupe et aux Bermudes. Les cellules pigmentaires sont diff��rentes de celles de T. tenebricosum; la localit�� type ��tant inconnue, l���opinion de Van Name (1945) d���une origine aux Bermudes est vraisemblable.Toutes les autres identifications de T. savignyi dans le Pacifique restent douteuses. Trididemnum marmoratum (Sluiter, 1909) dont le type a ��t�� revu a des spicules tr��s diff��rents, mais une larve de m��me structure. Un pigment fonc��, en tra��n��es, est pr��sent en surface des colonies., Published as part of Monniot, Fran��oise & Monniot, Claude, 2008, Compl��ments sur la diversit�� des ascidies (Ascidiacea, Tunicata) de l'ouest Pacifique tropical, pp. 799-872 in Zoosystema 30 (4) on pages 820-824, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.4690007, {"references":["SLUITER C. P. 1909. - Die Tunicaten der Siboga- Expedition. II. Die merosomen Ascidien. Siboga Expedition 56 B: 1 - 112.","KOTT P. 2001. - Th e Australian Ascidiacea. Part 4, Aplousobranchia (3), Didemnidae. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 47 (1): 1 - 407.","VAN NAME W. 1945. - Th e north and south American ascidians. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 84: 1 - 476."]}

Polysyncraton adelon n. sp. (Figs 54B; 56) TYPE MATERIAL. — Palau. Southwest Islands, Sonsoral, 5°20.88’N, 132°13.80’E, 15 m, 24.VII.1995 (MNHN A2 POL 94). ETYMOLOGY. — From the Greek adelon: hardly visible. DESCRIPTION Grey-green in formalin, the colonies form very soft, extensive sheets 1 to 2 mm thick. They are easily delaminated, as the common cloacal cavities are extensive at the thoracic level. The spicules are dense everywhere and mixed with dark pigment cells, which are more abundant in the upper layer and around the thoraces. The common cloacal cavity does not penetrate the abdominal layer of the colony. The zooids are greenish in formalin. The oral siphon is short with very small lobes. The cloacal opening is very wide, without a languet, uncovering a large part of the branchial sac (Fig. 56A). There are eight or nine stigmata in the first and second half rows, seven in the posterior row. The lateral thoracic organ is round, placed above the third transverse vessel or the fourth stigmata row (Fig. 56A). The retractor muscle is of variable length, but not longer than the thorax, and arises mid-way down the oesophageal peduncle. The abdomen (Fig. 56B) is slightly smaller than the thorax. The gut loop is wide open, with a spherical anterior stomach. The gonads are included in the digestive loop. There are three or more often four testis lobes, pressed into a rosette and covered by four to five turns of the sperm duct (Fig. 56B). The ovary (Fig. 56C) replaces the testis in the zooid’s reproductive cycle. No larvae were present in the colonies studied. The spicules reach 35 µm in diameter. They are spheres made of multiple thin blunt rays, not pointed ones (Fig. 54B). REMARKS This species is placed in the genus Polysyncraton instead of Didemnum according to the pragmatic understanding detailed earlier (Monniot F. 1993), as it has no cloacal languet but four testis lobes. Rather few species in this genus exist with many testis lobes but no cloacal languet. By its colour when preserved, the present species looks like P. hartmeyeri Michaelsen, 1923 from the Red Sea, which has five testis lobes, five to six turns of the sperm duct, more stigmata in a row, and – the most telling distinction – no retractor muscle. P. magnetae Hastings, 1931 from the Great Barrier Reef has five testes but only two coils of the sperm duct, and its zooids are distributed in double rows. Polysyncraton victoriensis Kott, 1976 from southern Australia has three to four testis follicles, but the spicule shape and arrangement is different and there are only six stigmata per half row. She does not mention a cloacal languet in her description. P. tubiporae Michaelsen, 1920 from Zanzibar has a spicule-free layer at the colony surface, lateral thoracic organs placed anteriorly, and six to eight testes encircled by two to three loose turns of the sperm duct. Polysyncraton aspiculatum Tokioka, 1949 (Fig. 121A) Didemnum (Polysyncraton) aspiculatum Tokioka, 1949: 2, pl. 2, fig. 1-3. Type locality: Japan. Synonymy: see Monniot C. et al. in press, South Africa. MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Philippines. Luzon, NE side of Maricaban Island, Gamao Point, 13°38.39’N, 120°56.86’E, 16 m, 25.VII.1994 (MNHN A2 POL 81). DESCRIPTION The colonies are thick light brown crusts (Fig. 121A) with a network of depressed lines above the cloacal channels. The cloacal apertures are not numerous. The colony surface is smooth and clean. Spicules are totally absent. The tunic is filled with vesicular cells and round, brown pigment cells. The structure of the zooids is the same as in specimens from other regions and in the type specimen. The cloacal languet is large with two long lobes in zooids near the common cloacal apertures. The branchial sac has eight stigmata per row on each side and is as brown as the remaider of the body. The testis follicles are numerous, about eight in a rosette encircled by two and a half coils of the sperm duct. The larvae are large compared to the zooid size. They have three adhesive papillae and eight pairs of ampullae grouped in pairs. The body wall has vesicular cells as figured by Tokioka (1953) for this species. REMARKS The distribution of P. aspiculatum in the western Indian Ocean, southern Australia, the Philippines, and Japan is particularly wide. The variability in density of spicules and pigment cells in different locations raises questions about the presence of just a single species, but the zooids and larvae are identical., Published as part of Monniot, Françoise & Monniot, Claude, 2001, Ascidians from the tropical western Pacific, pp. 201-383 in Zoosystema 23 (2) on pages 272-273, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5391440, {"references":["HASTINGS A. B. 1931. - Tunicata. Scientific Report of the Great Barrier Reef Expedition 1928 - 29 4 (3): 69 - 109.","KOTT P. 1976. - The ascidian fauna of Western Port, Victoria, and a comparison with that of Port Phillip Bay. Memoirs of the National Museum, Victoria 37: 53 - 96.","MICHAELSEN W. 1920. - Die Krikobranchien Ascidien des Westlichen Indischen Ozeans: Didemniden. Mittelungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum Hamburg 37: 1 - 74.","TOKIOKA T. 1949. - Contributions to Japanese ascidian fauna. I: Ascidians collected by Prof. Miyachi and Mr Masui during the bottom survey 1939 - 40. Publications of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory 1 (1): 1 - 17.","TOKIOKA T. 1953. - Ascidians of Sagami Bay. Iwanami Shoten, Tokyo, 313 p."]}

Lissoclinum guinense n. sp. (Figs 66; 67A; 122D) TYPE MATERIAL. — Papua New Guinea. Cape Rodney Pass, 10°15.66’S, 148°22.27’E, 31 m, 11. VI.1998 (MNHN A2 LIS 152). ETYMOLOGY. — From New Guinea. DESCRIPTION Inflated underwater (Fig. 122D), the colonies become flat encrusting sheets when fixed. They are colourless with a cloudy aspect due to irregularly distributed small spicules. The wide common cloacal apertures (Fig. 122D) correspond to an extensive common cloacal cavity. The zooids are small and colourless but the eggs and larvae have a brown pigment in formalin preservative. The oral siphon is short and narrow with six pointed lobes (Fig. 66A). The cloacal aperture is narrowed by a strong thoracic musculature. There is no cloacal languet. Lateral thoracic organs were not clearly observed. There is no retractor muscle. The abdomen is folded under the thorax and the waist is short (Fig. 66A). The gut has the usual compartments. The single testis follicle lies beneath the gut loop. The sperm duct is straight. The ovary is appended in a pouch attached anteriorly to the stomach and contains one large egg (Fig. 66A). The larvae (Fig. 66B) are incubated in the basal layer of the colony. The eggs and the posterior half of larvae contain brown droplets, probably pigment cells. The larvae are small, 0.55 mm for the trunk. They have three anterior adhesive papillae and four pairs of intercalated ampullae. The larval gut is posterior to a large vitellus vesicle. There are no buds. The spicules (Fig. 67A) have generally four stellate branches made of needles. They measure 60 to 70 µm. They are very similar to those of Lissoclinum verrilli (Van Name, 1902). REMARKS By numerous characters this species is closely allied to the Polynesian Lissoclinum tuheiavae Monniot C. & Monniot F., 1987. The latter has larger zooids and much larger spicules, and its larvae have no pigment. But both species share the absence of a cloacal languet, the absence of a retractor muscle, the shape of the ovary, and a non-gemmiparous larva with four pairs of anterior ampullae. Lissoclinum verrilli has the same shape of spicules, but its larvae are gemmiparous. Lissoclinum triangulum Sluiter, 1909 has different spicules and a larva with six pairs of larval ampullae., Published as part of Monniot, Françoise & Monniot, Claude, 2001, Ascidians from the tropical western Pacific, pp. 201-383 in Zoosystema 23 (2) on pages 283-284, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5391440, {"references":["SLUITER C. P. 1909. - Die Tunicaten der Siboga - Expedition. II: Die merosomen Ascidien. Siboga Expedition 56 (B): 1 - 112."]}

Atriolum robustum Kott, 1983 (Fig. 123A) Atriolum robustum Kott, 1983: 15, figs 1-4. Type locality: Northern Australia. — Millar 1988: 830, fig. 3, Madagascar. — Lafargue & Vasseur 1989: 61, fig. 2, Mayotte, Mauritius. — Monniot F. 1990b: 676, fig. 2, pl. IB, New Caledonia. MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Papua New Guinea. Louisiade Archipelago, Calvados Island Chain, Brooker Channel, 11°03.09’S, 152°28.62’E, 7 m, 1. VI.1998 (MNHN A2 ATR 15). REMARKS The colonies are made of several urn-shaped lobes on a common base. The colour is a mixture of green, pink, and light brown with white rims of the large common cloacal apertures (Fig. 123A). Symbiotic algae are present in the tunic. All characters agree with previous descriptions. No larvae were found in this material. The distribution of this species is wide in both the western Pacific Ocean and in the Indian Ocean., Published as part of Monniot, Françoise & Monniot, Claude, 2001, Ascidians from the tropical western Pacific, pp. 201-383 in Zoosystema 23 (2) on pages 286-287, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5391440, {"references":["KOTT P. 1983. - Two new genera of didemnid ascidians from tropical Australian waters. Beagle 1 (2): 13 - 19.","MILLAR R. H. 1988. - Ascidians collected during the International Indian Ocean Expedition. Journal of Natural History 22: 823 - 848.","LAFARGUE F. & VASSEUR P. 1989. - Ascidies des recifs coralliens du N. E. du canal de Mozambique (Campagne BENTEDI du N. Suroit, 17 mars- 14 avril 1977). Mesogee 49: 59 - 66."]}

Monniot, Françoise, Monniot, Claude (2001): Ascidians from the tropical western Pacific. Zoosystema 23 (2): 201-383, DOI: http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5391440, {"references": ["BREWIN B. I. 1950. - Ascidians of New Zealand. Part V: Ascidians from the East coast of Great Barrier Island. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand 78 (2-3): 354-362.", "BREWIN B. I. 1953. - Australian ascidians of the subfamily Holozoinae and a review of the subfamily. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand 81 (1): 53-64.", "BREWIN B. I. 1957. - Ascidians of New Zealand. X: Ascidians from North Aukland. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand 84 (3): 577-580.", "DRASCHE R. VON 1882. - Oxycorynia, eine neue Synascidien-Gattung. Verhandlungen der zoologisch botanischen Gesellschaft Wien Osterreich 32: 175-178.", "GOSLINER T. M., BEHRENS D. W. & WILLIAMS G. C. 1996. - Coral Reef Animals of the Indo-Pacific. Sea Challenger, Monterey, California, 314 p.", "GOTTSCHALDT R. 1898. - Synascidien von Ternate. Abhandlungen herausgegeben von der Senckenbergischen naturforschenden Gesellschaft 24: 641-660.", "HARTMEYER R. 1919. - Ascidien, in Results of Dr E. Mjobergs Swedish scientific expedition in Australia 1910-13. Kunglinga Svenska vetenskapsakademiens Handlingar 60 (4): 1-150.", "HARTMEYER R. & MICHAELSEN W. 1928. - Ascidiae Dictyobranchiae und Ptychobranchiae. Fauna Sudwest-Australiens 5 (6): 251-460.", "HASTINGS A. B. 1931. - Tunicata. Scientific Report of the Great Barrier Reef Expedition 1928-29 4 (3): 69- 109.", "HELLER C. 1878. - Beitrage zur nahern Kenntnis der Tunicaten. Denkschriften der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Wien 37 (1): 241-275.", "HERDMAN W. A. 1880. - Preliminary report on the Tunicata of the Challenger expedition. Part II. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburg 10: 714- 726.", "HERDMAN W. A. 1881. - Preliminary report on the Tunicata of the Challenger expedition. Part III: Cynthiadae. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburg 11: 52-88.", "HERDMAN W. A. 1882. - Report on the Tunicata collected during the voyage of H. M. S. Challenger during the years 1873-1876. Part I: Ascidiae simplices. Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of HMS Challenger 6: 1-285.", "HERDMAN W. A. 1886. - Report on the Tunicata collected during the voyage of H. M. S. Challenger during the years 1873-1876. Part. II: Ascidiae compositae. Report on the Scientific Results of the Voyage of HMS Challenger 14: 1-399.", "HERDMAN W. A. 1891. - A revised classification of the Tunicata with definitions of the orders, suborders, families, subfamilies and genera, and analytical keys to the species. Journal of the Linnean Society, Zoology, London 23: 558-652.", "HERDMAN W. A. 1899. - Descriptive catalogue of the Tunicata in the Australian Museum Sydney N. S. W. Australian Museum, Sydney- Catalogue 17: 1-139.", "HERDMAN W. A. 1906. - Report on the Tunicata. Ceylon Pearl Oyster Fisheries suppl. 39: 295-348.", "KOTT P. 1957a. - The ascidians of Australia. II: Aplousobranchiata Lahille: Clavelinidae Forbes & Hanley and Polyclinidae Verrill. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 8 (1): 64-110.", "KOTT P. 1957b. - The sessile Tunicata. Scientific Report of the John Murray Expedition 1933-1934 10 (4): 129-149.", "KOTT P. 1963. - The ascidians of Australia. IV: Aplousobranchiata Lahille: Polyclinidae Verrill (continued). Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 14 (1): 70-118.", "KOTT P. 1964. - Stolidobranch and phlebobranch ascidians of the Queensland coast. University of Queensland Papers, Department of Zoology 2 (2): 127-152.", "KOTT P. 1966. - Ascidians from Northern Australia. University of Queensland Papers, Department of Zoology 2 (15): 279-304.", "KOTT P. 1972a. - Ascidiacea (Chordata: Tunicata), in The fauna of the Gulf of Carpentaria. Fisheries Notes Queensland new series 2 (3): 39-54.", "KOTT P. 1972b. - The ascidians of South Australia. I: Spencer Gulf, Vincent Gulf and Encounter Bay. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 96 (1): 1-52.", "KOTT P. 1972c. - The ascidians of South Australia. II: Eastern sector of the Great Australian Bight and Investigator Strait. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 96 (4): 165-196.", "KOTT P. 1976. - The ascidian fauna of Western Port, Victoria, and a comparison with that of Port Phillip Bay. Memoirs of the National Museum, Victoria 37: 53-96.", "KOTT P. 1980. - Algal-bearing didemnid ascidians in the Indo-West-Pacific. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 20 (1): 1-47.", "KOTT P. 1981. - The ascidians of the reef flats of Fiji. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 105 (3): 147-212.", "KOTT P. 1983. - Two new genera of didemnid ascidians from tropical Australian waters. Beagle 1 (2): 13-19.", "KOTT P. 1985. - The Australian Ascidiacea. Part 1: Phlebobranchiata and Stolidobranchiata. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 23: 1-440.", "KOTT P. 1990. - The Australian Ascidiacea. Part 2: Aplousobranchia (1). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 29 (1): 1-266.", "KOTT P. 1992a. - The Australian Ascidiacea. Part 3: Aplousobranchia (2). Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 32 (2): 375-620.", "KOTT P. 1992b. - The Australian Ascidiacea, supplement 2. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 32 (2): 621-655.", "KOTT P. 1998. - Tunicata, in WELLS A. & HOUSTON W. W. K (eds), Zoological Catalogue of Australia. CSIRO, Melbourne: 51-215.", "KOTT P. & GOODBODY I. 1982. - The ascidians of Hong Kong, in MORTON B. S. & TSENG C. K (eds), The Marine Flora and Fauna of Hong Kong and Southern China. Hong Kong University Press, Hong Kong: 503-554.", "KOWALEVSKY A. 1874. - Ueber die knospung der Ascidien. Archiv fur mikroscopische Anatomie 10: 441-470.", "LAFARGUE F. & VASSEUR P. 1989. - Ascidies des recifs coralliens du N. E. du canal de Mozambique (Campagne BENTEDI du N. Suroit, 17 mars-14 avril 1977). Mesogee 49: 59-66.", "LAMBERT G. & LAMBERT C. C. 1987. - Spicule formation in the solitary ascidian, Herdmania momus. Journal of Morphology 192: 145-159.", "MICHAELSEN W. 1904. - Revision der kompositen Styeliden oder Polyzoinen. Mittelungen aus dem Naturhistorischen Museum Hamburg 21: 1-124.", "MICHAELSEN W. 1905. - Revision von Hellers Ascidientypen aus dem Museum Godeffroy. Zoologische Jahrbucher suppl. 8: 71-120.", "MICHAELSEN W. 1908. - Die Pyuriden \"Halocynthiiden\" des Naturhistorischen Museums zu Hamburg. Mittelungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum Hamburg 25: 225-287.", "MICHAELSEN W. 1918 - Die Ptychobranchien und Diktyobranchien Ascidien des Westlichen Indischen Ozeans. Mittelungen aus dem Zoologishen Museum Hamburg 35: 1-68.", "MICHAELSEN W. 1919a. - Die Krikobranchien Ascidien des Westlichen Indischen Ozeans: Claveliniden und Synoiciden. Jahrbuch der Hamburgischen wissenschaftlichen Anstalten 36: 71- 102.", "MICHAELSEN W. 1919b. - Expedition S. M. Schiff Pola in das Roten Meer nordliche und sudliche halfte 1895/96-1897/98 zoologische Ergebnisse. XXXII Ascidia Ptychobranchia und Dictyobranchia des Roten Meeres. Denkschriften der Akademie der wissenschaften Wien 95: 1-120.", "MICHAELSEN W. 1920. - Die Krikobranchien Ascidien des Westlichen Indischen Ozeans: Didemniden. Mittelungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum Hamburg 37: 1-74.", "MICHAELSEN W. 1921. - Ascidien Westlichen Indischen Ozean aus dem Reichsmuseum zu Stockholm. Arkiv for Zoology 13 (23): 1-18.", "MICHAELSEN W. 1924. - Ascidiae Krikobranchiae von Neuseeland, den Chatham und den Auckland Inseln. 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Bulletin du Museum national d'Histoire naturelle (4), 12 A (3-4): 517-529.", "MONNIOT F. 1990b. - Ascidies de Nouvelle- Caledonie. VII: les genres Atriolum et Leptoclinides dans le lagon sud. Bulletin du Museum national d'Histoire naturelle (4), 11 A (4): 673-691.", "MONNIOT F. 1992. - Ascidies de Nouvelle- Caledonie. XII: Le genre Lissoclinum (Didemnidae) dans le lagon sud. Bulletin du Museum national d'Histoire naturelle (4), 14 A (3-4): 565-589.", "MONNIOT F. 1993. - Ascidies de Nouvelle- Caledonie. XIII: Le genre Polysyncraton (Didemnidae). Bulletin du Museum national d'Histoire naturelle (4), 15 A (1-4): 3-17.", "MONNIOT F. 1994. - Ascidies de Nouvelle- Caledonie. XIV: Le genre Diplosoma. Bulletin du Museum national d'Histoire naturelle (4), 16 A (1): 3-11.", "MONNIOT F. 1995. - Ascidies de Nouvelle- Caledonie. XV: Le genre Didemnum. 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Didemnum perlucidum Monniot F., 1983 Didemnum perlucidum Monniot F., 1983: 29. Type locality: Guadeloupe. — Monniot F. & Monniot C. 1996: 160, fig. 13, pl. 2G, Indonesia. MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Philippines. Bohol Sea, Camiguin Island, 9°14.71’N, 124°39.61’E, 20 m, IV.1997 (MNHN A2 DID.C 430). Mariana Islands. Guam, Apra Harbour, off Buoys, 0-3 m, 12. VI.1998, coll. Erhardt (MNHN A2 DID.C 464)., Published as part of Monniot, Françoise & Monniot, Claude, 2001, Ascidians from the tropical western Pacific, pp. 201-383 in Zoosystema 23 (2) on page 271, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5391440

Didemnum guttatum Monniot F. & Monniot C., 1996 Didemnum guttatum Monniot F. & Monniot C., 1996: 153, figs 9D; 10, pl. 2E. Type locality: western Pacific. MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Palau. Koror, Ngermutidech, 7°18.74’N, 134°31.12’E, 0.5 m, 21. VI.1993 (MNHN Slide 1604). — Southwest Islands, Helen Reef, 2°53.03’N, 131°44.94’E, 5 m, 10.XII.1996 (MNHN A2 DID.C 413). Philippines. Palawan, Honda Bay, 9°52.90’N, 118°49.01’E, 18.IV.1995 (MNHN A2 DID.C 354). Didemnum lacertosum Monniot F., 1995 (Fig. 120C) Didemnum lacertosum Monniot F., 1995: 311, fig. 7, pl. IIB. Type locality: Loyalty Islands. MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Papua New Guinea. Milne Bay Province, Reef SE of Drawari Island, 10°18.03’S, 151°03.94’E, 16 m, 6. VI.1998 (Sample: CRRF). DESCRIPTION The colonies are round, no more than 1 cm in diameter, grouped in patches on corals and sponges. There are one or two common cloacal apertures, circled in white, per colony. The periphery of the colony is purple-pink (Fig. 120C). Spicules with numerous short rays are dense in the surface layer, sparser at the abdominal level. The zooids are very small. The oral siphon has six short, pointed lobes. The cloacal aperture is large. A bilobed languet is long in zooids near the common cloacal aperture, shorter elsewhere. The lateral thoracic organs are small, round, at the level of the third stigmata row. The retractor muscle is short, inserted high against the oesophageal peduncle. The gonads lie against the gut loop: the large testis follicle is covered by seven to eight turns of the sperm duct. The ovary contains a large protruding oocyte. The larvae are of a small size, 550 µm for the trunk. Eight to 10 pairs of ampullae encircle the three adhesive papillae. The larvae are gemmiparous. This sample corresponds exactly to the yellow or pink species described from the Loyalty Islands. It is collected again for the first time., Published as part of Monniot, Françoise & Monniot, Claude, 2001, Ascidians from the tropical western Pacific, pp. 201-383 in Zoosystema 23 (2) on pages 267-268, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5391440

Didemnum linguiferum Monniot F. & Monniot C., 1996 Didemnum linguiferum Monniot F. & Monniot C., 1996: 155, figs 9E; 11. Type locality: Indonesia. MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Philippines. Mindanao, Davao, Pakiputan Strait, 7°07.36’N, 125°40.11’E, 33 m, 3.IV.1996 (MNHN A2 DID.C 379). Federated States of Micronesia. Pohnpei, NE lagoon, Tehpehk Island, bath sponge farm growing on nylon line, 6°57.68’N, 158°17.85’E, 8 m, 15.X.1996 (MNHN A2 DID.C 421).

Polysyncraton cerebellum n. sp. (Figs 57; 58A; 121B) TYPE MATERIAL. — Palau. Southwest Islands, Helen Reef, overhang, 2°53.03’N, 131°44.94’E, 12 m, 10.XII.1996 (MNHN A2 POL 97). ETYMOLOGY. — From the Latin cerebellum: brain. OTHER MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Papua New Guinea. Louisiade Archipelago, Calvados Island Chain, Brooker Channel, 11°03.09’S, 152°28.62’E, 12 m, 1.VI.1998 (MNHN A2 POL 96). DESCRIPTION In large crusts about 2-3 mm thick, these colonies are marbled with brown on a white ground. The pattern suggests a brain’s surface (Fig. 121B) (hence the species name). The zooids are irregularly placed on the sides of large channels delimiting oval or polygonal areas. The common cloacal apertures are numerous and stellate. The pigment cells are superficial. Dark brown inclusions lie in the basal test. The colonies are easily delaminated into a surface layer containing the oral siphons and the cloacal languets and a basal layer containing the abdomens and larvae. The thoraces are included in pillars of tunic uniting these layers. The oral siphons are large, funnel-shaped, with six lobes (Fig. 57A, B). The cloacal aperture uncovers most of the branchial sac. The languet is either short with a round tip (Fig. 57A) or, in zooids near the common cloacal apertures, large and T-shaped (Fig. 57B). The branchial sac has eight to 10 stigmata per side in the first row. The lateral thoracic organs protrude from the rim of the cloacal aperture at the level of the first or second stigmata row. The retractor muscle, shorter than the thorax, projects at the base of the oesophageal peduncle (Fig. 57A). The gut loop is largely opened and only slightly twisted when the testis is fully mature. There are two testis follicles, tightly pressed against each other, covered by five turns of the sperm duct (Fig. 57C). The ovary develops against the testis with one large oocyte. The larval trunks are 1 mm long. Larvae have three adhesive papillae and at their base a comb-like crown of 24 pairs of ampullae. The spicules (Fig. 58A) are stellate with numerous short, pointed rays. The largest spicules reach 65 µm in diameter. They are very dense throughout the tunic, making it stiff. REMARKS This species is very similar to P. thallomorpha Monniot F., 1993. It differs in the colony’s pigment pattern and the arrangement of the zooids in meshes. Also, the oral siphon is less wide in this new species. The lateral thoracic organs are above the third row of stigmata in P. thallomorpha. The larvae are very similar in both species. The spicules have more rays in P. cerebellum n. sp. Polysyncraton lithostrotum Brewin, 1956 from New Zealand and recorded again in New Caledonia (Monniot F. 1993: 4, fig. 1, pl. 1A) has also a mosaic pattern but a very different one; the zooids in that species are included in polygons in the centre of each of which opens a single common cloacal cavity. The anatomy of the zooids and larvae in that species are exactly the same as in P. cerebellum n. sp. Polysyncraton thallomorpha Monniot F., 1993 (Fig. 121C) Polysyncraton thallomorpha Monniot F., 1993: 13, fig. 7, pl. IIA. Type locality: New Caledonia. MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Philippines. Bohol Sea, Camiguin Island, 9°12.89’N, 124°38.03’E, 7 m, 18.IV.1997 (MNHN A2 POL 88). DESCRIPTION The colonies have the characteristic shape described in New Caledonia; hard, thin crusts partially raised above the sediment. The colour is darker here, almost black, but the margins of the lobes remain white (Fig. 121C). The undersurface of the leaf-like crust is extremely hard with ridges. The pigment cells are dendritic, restricted to the colony’s upper surface. The zooids have the characteristic long and wide oral siphon, and a large cloacal aperture with a languet varying in length according to the proximity of the zooids to the common cloacal cavity. The lateral thoracic organs protrude at the level of the third stigmata row. The two testis lobes overlap the gut loop and are covered by five turns of the sperm duct. The larvae have three adhesive papillae encircled by very numerous digitiform ampullae. The spicules are irregular, as figured in Monniot F. (1993: pl. II A)., Published as part of Monniot, Françoise & Monniot, Claude, 2001, Ascidians from the tropical western Pacific, pp. 201-383 in Zoosystema 23 (2) on pages 273-275, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5391440

Didemnum rodriguesi Rocha & Monniot F., 1993 (Figs 55; 120F) Didemnum rodriguesi Rocha & Monniot F., 1993: 261, figs 1; 2, Brazil and New Caledonia. — Monniot C. et al. in press, Sodwana Bay, South Africa. MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Papua New Guinea. Milne Bay, China Straits, 10°34.50’S, 150°40.73’E, 23 m, 10.VI.1998 (MNHN A2 DID. C 463). DESCRIPTION The colonies are thin red crusts covering many kinds of substrates (Fig. 120F). The surface is smooth but appears as finely prickled and pitted, due to the distribution of spicules in the surface layer of the colony. The spicules are dense throughout the thickness of the colony: they are stellate, up to 40 µm in diameter. The zooids have a wide cloacal aperture. The lateral thoracic organs are above the third transverse vessel. The thorax is narrowed posteriorly. The gut forms a twisted loop. There is a single testis follicle which is covered by about seven turns of the sperm duct. The developed larvae (Fig. 55) protrude at the colony surface. They have three short adhesive papillae encircled by seven to eight pairs of ampullae. They are not gemmiparous. REMARKS This richly coloured Didemnum is well-characterised by the microscopical pattern of its colony surface. Its distribution is surprisingly large, as it occurs in Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, South Africa, and Brazil., Published as part of Monniot, Françoise & Monniot, Claude, 2001, Ascidians from the tropical western Pacific, pp. 201-383 in Zoosystema 23 (2) on page 271, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5391440

Didemnum biglutinum Monniot F., 1995 Didemnum biglutinum Monniot F., 1995: 300. Type locality: New Caledonia. — Monniot F. & Monniot C. 1996: 152, fig. 9C, pl. 2D, Palau. MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Palau. E Ngeruktabel, Topkukau, marine cove, 7°15.94’N, 134°27.01’E, 1 m, 9.III.1994 (MNHN A2 DID.C 418). Federated States of Micronesia. Pohnpei, NE lagoon, Tehpehk Island, bath sponge farm growing on nylon line, 6°57.68’N, 158°17.85’E, 8 m, 15.X.1996 (MNHN A2 DID.C 416). Didemnum cuculliferum (Sluiter, 1909) (Fig. 120B) Diplosomoides cuculliferum Sluiter, 1909: 90. Type locality: Indonesia. Didemnum cuculliferum – Kott 1981: 164, figs 16; 22a, b, Fiji. — Monniot C. & Monniot F. 1987: 28, fig. 7D, E, pl. VB, Polynesia. — Monniot F. 1995: 305, pl. 1D, 4A, New Caledonia. MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Palau. Ngermutidech, 7°18.74’N, 134°31.12’E, 0.5 m, 14. VI.1996 (MNHN A2 DID.C 425). Fiji. Coll. Ireland (MNHN A2 DID.C 72). DESCRIPTION In life the colonies have the colour of red currant (Fig. 120B). They are 1-2 cm in diameter, thin and soft, growing on sea grass. The upper surface is marked by many long irregular papillae. The spicules are dense throughout the colony. The oral siphon has six very short lobes. The cloacal aperture is not very wide, and there is no cloacal languet. The lateral thoracic organs lie on the middle of each side above the third or fourth stigmata row. The thorax has a rectangular shape. The retractor muscle is about as long as the thorax. The waist is short. The abdomen folds under the thorax and contains a twisted gut loop. The one large testis follicle is covered by six coils of the sperm duct. A brown crescent-like gland lies against the intestinal loop. There are no larvae in these colonies. The spicules correspond exactly to those observed in collections from New Caledonia, Fiji, and Polynesia. REMARKS Even without larvae this species is identifiable by its colour in life and by the papillated surface of the small colonies. Its distribution is wide in the western Pacific Ocean: Indonesia, Palau, New Caledonia, Fiji and the islands of Polynesia., Published as part of Monniot, Françoise & Monniot, Claude, 2001, Ascidians from the tropical western Pacific, pp. 201-383 in Zoosystema 23 (2) on pages 266-267, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.5391440, {"references":["SLUITER C. P. 1909. - Die Tunicaten der Siboga - Expedition. II: Die merosomen Ascidien. Siboga Expedition 56 (B): 1 - 112.","KOTT P. 1981. - The ascidians of the reef flats of Fiji. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 105 (3): 147 - 212."]}