Archidistoma aggregatum - Marine Life Encyclopedia

Archidistoma aggregatum Garstang, 1891

Description: This inconspicuous colonial ascidian consists of small globular heads with short stalks, grouped together in a patch arising from a thin sheet of shared test. It is almost colourless, with a brown or grey overall hue and no obvious markings. Each head is about 5mm in diameter and consists of about 10 zooids arranged around a common central exhalent opening.

Habitat: Found normally in sand-scoured sites with significant tidal streams.

Distribution: Found from Plymouth and Salcombe in southern England north to the Irish Sea and North Channel. Probably under-recorded due to its inconspicuous appearance and small size.

Similar Species: Compare with Synoicum incrustatum and Polyclinum aurantium. These are both bigger colonies than Archidistoma aggregatum.

Key Identification Features:

Small sand-encrusted colonies with globular heads and short stalks.
Colourless or with a brown or grey hue and no markings.

Distribution Map from BioMar data for Ireland - Google Earth map: download this placemark (not got Google Earth installed?)

Distribution Map from NBN: JNCC MNCR Seasearch data - Grid map : Interactive map : National Biodiversity Network mapping facility, data for UK.

Picton, B.E. & Morrow, C.C., 2010. [In] Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland
http://www.habitas.org.uk/marinelife/species.asp?item=ZD230

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