Didemnidae, or Didemnidæ, is a
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 ...
of
colonial
Colonial or The Colonial may refer to:
* Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology)
Architecture
* American colonial architecture
* French Colonial
* Spanish Colonial architecture
Automobiles
* Colonial (1920 au ...
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 ...
s in the order
Enterogona
Ascidiacea, commonly known as the ascidians, tunicates (in part), and sea squirts (in part), is a polyphyletic class in the subphylum Tunicata of sac-like marine invertebrate filter feeders. Ascidians are characterized by a tough outer "tunic" ...
.
These marine animals are found in shallow water on the seabed. Members of this family have small
zooid
A zooid or zoöid is a single animal that is part of a colonial animal. This lifestyle has been adopted by animals from separate unrelated taxa. Zooids are multicellular; their structure is similar to that of other solitary animals. The zoo ...
s that form encrusting colonies. The body of each zooid is divided into a thorax and an abdomen.
Systematics
The
World Register of Marine Species
The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive list of names of marine organisms.
Content
The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scientific specialist ...
lists the following genera:
[
* '' Atriolum'' Kott, 1983
* '']Clitella
The clitellum is a thickened glandular and non-segmented section of the body wall near the head in earthworms and leeches, that secretes a viscid sac in which eggs are stored. It is located near the anterior end of the body, between the fourteenth ...
'' Kott, 2001
* '' Coelocormus'' Herdman, 1886
* '' Didemnum'' Savigny, 1816
* '' Diplosoma'' Macdonald, 1859
* '' Leptoclinides'' Bjerkan, 1905
* ''Lissoclinum
''Lissoclinum'' is a genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and ...
'' Verrill, 1871
* ''Polysyncraton
''Polysyncraton'' is a genus of tunicates belonging to the family Didemnidae.
The genus has almost cosmopolitan distribution
In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of ...
'' Nott, 1891
* '' Trididemnum'' Della Valle, 1881
Gallery
Image:Atriolum robustum Maldives.JPG, '' Atriolum robustum''
Image:Didemnum molle.jpeg, '' Didemnum molle''
Image:Diplosoma spongiforme (Giard, 1872) 5.jpg, '' Diplosoma spongiforme''
Image:Lissoclinum patellum.jpg, '' Lissoclinum patellum''
Image:Polysyncraton bilobatum Lafargue, 1968.jpg, ''Polysyncraton bilobatum
''Polysyncraton'' is a genus of tunicates belonging to the family Didemnidae.
The genus has almost cosmopolitan distribution
In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of ...
''
See also
* Didemnin
References
Aplousobranchia
Tunicate families
{{Tunicata-stub