''Diazona violacea'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

tunicate A tunicate is a marine invertebrate animal, a member of the subphylum Tunicata (). It is part of the Chordata, a phylum which includes all animals with dorsal nerve cords and notochords (including vertebrates). The subphylum was at one time ca ...

, an ascidian in the

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

Diazonidae Diazonidae is a family of sea squirts belonging to the suborder Phlebobranchia. Genera Genera in the family Diazonidae include:Turon, X.; Gittenberger, A.; Sanamyan, K. (2014). Diazonidae Seeliger, 1906. In: Shenkar, N.; Gittenberger, A.; Lamber ...

. It is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen ...

of the genus '' Diazona''.

Distribution

This species is known from the northeast Atlantic from the British Isles to Portugal, and in the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

. In the British Isles it is found off

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and SW

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. It is a cold water species found below 30 m in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

but as shallow as 15 m in Scotland.

Description

This colonial ascidian is translucent grey with transparent zooids. The zooids are marked with white internal lines and circles and there are typically six spots around the exhalant siphon.Picton, B.E. & Morrow, C.C. (2015)
''Diazona violacea'' Savigny, 1816.
n/nowiki> Encyclopedia of Marine Life of Britain and Ireland. Accessed on 2015-12-23

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q4919222 Enterogona Fauna of the Atlantic Ocean Fauna of the Mediterranean Sea Animals described in 1816 Taxa named by Marie Jules César Savigny