Pyura dalbyi

Pyura dalbyi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Tunicata
Class:	Ascidiacea
Order:	Stolidobranchia
Family:	Pyuridae
Genus:	Pyura
Species:	P. dalbyi
Binomial name
	Pyura dalbyi; Rius & Teske, 2011

Pyura dalbyi, the yellow cunjevoi, is a species of large, solitary ascidians, or sea squirts.

Distribution[]

This species has been found in several localities in Victoria, south-eastern Australia,^[1] and in a single locality in Western Australia (Albany harbour).^[2] Unlike other species of cunjevoi in temperate Australasia, P. dalbyi has been found almost exclusively subtidally.^[1]

Description[]

Pyura dalbyi has a yellow, sand-free tunic, a highly conspicuous feature that readily distinguishes it from other species of cunjevoi in temperate Australasia.^[2]

Etymology[]

Pyura dalbyi is named after Dr. James Edward Dalby Jr, who reported distributional, morphometric and ecological differences between this species and its congener P. praeputialis.^[2]

Taxonomy[]

This species is a member of the "P. stolonifera species complex", a group of large ascidians that are often indiscriminately referred to as P. stolonifera in the literature.^[2] Genetic data indicate that it is only distantly related to the other two Australasian species in this species complex, P. praeputialis and P. doppelgangera.^[3]

References[]

^ ^a ^b Dalby, J.E., Jr. (1997) Dimorphism in the ascidian Pyura stolonifera near Melbourne, Australia, and its evaluation through field transplant experiments. Marine Ecology, 18, 253–271.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Rius, M. and Teske, P.R. (2011) A revision of the Pyura stolonifera species complex (Tunicata, Ascidiacea), with a description of a new species from Australia. Zootaxa 2754: 27-40 ISSN 1175-5334; article available at: http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2011/f/zt02754p040.pdf
^ Teske, P.R. et al. (2011): Nested cryptic diversity in a widespread marine ecosystem engineer: a challenge for detecting biological invasions. BMC Evolutionary Biology 11:176 doi:10.1186/1471-2148-11-176; article available at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/11/176

This tunicate-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by .

[Dalby1997-1] Dalby, J.E., Jr. (1997) Dimorphism in the ascidian Pyura stolonifera near Melbourne, Australia, and its evaluation through field transplant experiments. Marine Ecology, 18, 253–271.

[RiusTeske2011-2] Rius, M. and Teske, P.R. (2011) A revision of the Pyura stolonifera species complex (Tunicata, Ascidiacea), with a description of a new species from Australia. Zootaxa 2754: 27-40 ISSN 1175-5334; article available at: http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2011/f/zt02754p040.pdf

[3] Teske, P.R. et al. (2011): Nested cryptic diversity in a widespread marine ecosystem engineer: a challenge for detecting biological invasions. BMC Evolutionary Biology 11:176 doi:10.1186/1471-2148-11-176; article available at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2148/11/176

[1]

[2]

[3]