Invasion History
First Non-native North American Tidal Record:First Non-native West Coast Tidal Record:
First Non-native East/Gulf Coast Tidal Record:
General Invasion History:
North American Invasion History:
Description
Lissoclinum fragile was described from Bermuda in 1902. Is is a colonial tunicate which forms very falt, thin, encrusting colonies. The test of the colony is very fragile,in part due the density of white, calcareous burr-like spicules, ~0.02 mm in idameter, and also the exttensive shared cloacal cavities. The apertures protedt above the surface of the colony. The zooids are aout 1.5 mm long. The branchoial aperture is six-lobed and crown-shamped, while the anal aperture has a languet,. The brancial sac is lange, with four rows of stigmata, and ~10-11 rows. The intestinal loop is small, and the stomach is thin-walled. There are two pear-shaped testes in the intestinal loop, united by common duct. The ovary is represented by a small group of eggs. Colonies can reach up to 60-80 mm, but are 2-3 mm thick, and tear easily. The colonies are usually snowy white due to spiqules, but zooids are orange (Eldredge 1966; Van Name 1945).
Taxonomy
Taxonomic Tree
| Kingdom: | Animalia | |
| Phylum: | Chordata | |
| Subphylum: | Tunicata | |
| Class: | Ascidiacea | |
| Order: | Aplousobranchia | |
| Family: | Didemnidae | |
| Genus: | Lissoclinum | |
| Species: | fragile |
Synonyms
Diplosomoides molle (Sluiter, 1909)
Lissoclinum fragile (Van Name, 2921)
Potentially Misidentified Species
Ecology
General:
Life History- A colonial tunicate consists of many zooids, bearing most or all of the organs of a solitary tunicate, but modified to varying degrees for colonial life. Colonial tunicates of the family Didemnidae have small zooids, completely embedded in an encrusting and thin tunic. Each zooid has an oral siphon and an atrial aperture which opens to a shared cloacal chamber. Water is pumped into the oral siphon, through finely meshed ciliated gills on the pharynx, where phytoplankton and detritus is filtered, and passed on mucus strings to the stomach and intestines. Excess waste is expelled in the outgoing atrial water (Van Name 1945; Barnes 1983).
Colonial tunicates reproduce both asexually by budding and sexually from fertilized eggs that develop into larvae. Buds can form from the body wall of the zooids. Colonies vary in size ranging from small clusters of zooids to huge spreading masses. The zooids are hermaphroditic, which means both eggs and sperm are released into the atrial chamber. Eggs may be self-fertilized or fertilized by sperm from nearby animals, but some species have a partial block to self-fertilization. Fertilized eggs are brooded within the tunic until they hatch into lecithotrophic (non-feeding, yolk-dependent) tadpole larvae. The larva has a muscular tail and a notochord, eyespots, and a set of adhesive papillae. The larvae are expelled upon hatching and swim briefly before settlement. Swimming periods are usually less than a day, but some larvae settle immediately after release or swim for longer periods if the water temperature is low. On settlement the tail is absorbed, the gill basket expands, and the tunicate begins to feed by filtering (Van Name 1945; Barnes 1983).
Lissoclinum fragile is widely distributed in tropical and subtropical habitats, including stones, pilings, and offshore oil platforms (Van Name 1945; Venugopalan and Wagh, 1990).
Food:
Phytoplankton, detritius
Trophic Status:
Suspension Feeder
SusFedHabitats
| General Habitat | Rocky | None |
| General Habitat | Marinas & Docks | None |
Life History
Tolerances and Life History Parameters
| Maximum Length (mm) | 80 | Van Name 1945 |
| Broad Temperature Range | None | Subtropical-Tropical |
| Broad Salinity Range | None | Polyhaline-Euhaline |
General Impacts
Regional Distribution Map
| Bioregion | Region Name | Year | Invasion Status | Population Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA-ET4 | Bermuda | 1902 | Crypogenic | Established |
| CAR-IV | None | 1915 | Crypogenic | Established |
| CAR-III | None | 0 | Crypogenic | Established |
| CAR-I | Northern Yucatan, Gulf of Mexico, Florida Straits, to Middle Eastern Florida | 1945 | Crypogenic | Established |
| NEA-VI | None | 0 | Crypogenic | Established |
| CAR-VII | Cape Hatteras to Mid-East Florida | 0 | Crypogenic | Established |
| CAR-II | None | 0 | Crypogenic | Established |
| SP-XIII | None | 1955 | Non-native | Established |
| EAS-III | None | 1941 | Crypogenic | Established |
| SP-XII | None | 1998 | Non-native | Established |
| CIO-II | None | 1981 | Crypogenic | Established |
| CIO-I | None | 0 | Crypogenic | Established |
| SA-II | None | 1969 | Crypogenic | Established |
| AG-5 | None | 1994 | Crypogenic | Established |
| AG-4 | None | 1994 | Crypogenic | Established |
| SP-XXI | None | 1962 | Non-native | Established |
| SA-III | None | 0 | Crypogenic | Established |
| SP-XVI | None | 1962 | Non-native | Established |
| EAS-I | None | 1909 | Crypogenic | Established |
| EAS-VI | None | 0 | Crypogenic | Established |
| SEP-H | None | 1970 | Non-native | Established |
| NEP-VII | None | 2012 | Non-native | Established |
| NEP-VIII | None | 2012 | Non-native | Established |
| SA-I | None | 2004 | Non-native | Established |
| PAN_PAC | Panama Pacific Coast | 2009 | Non-native | Established |
| WA-I | None | 1994 | Crypogenic | Established |
| SP-IV | None | 0 | Non-native | Established |
Occurrence Map
| OCC_ID | Author | Year | Date | Locality | Status | Latitude | Longitude |
|---|
References
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