Botrylloides pizoni, a new species of Botryllinae (Ascidiacea) from the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

A new ascidian species belonging to the Botryllinae was discovered in the Gulf of Taranto (South Italy). This new species was collected in different seasons over a period of several years, which allowed information about its biology to be obtained. The new species presents large zooids arranged in ladder systems. The zooids have several rows of stigmata, the second one complete, ovary posterior to testis, one larva per side developing in an incubatory pouch, and a peculiar arrangement of the gut loop. The new species is named Botrylloides pizoni after the great French zoologist Antoine Pizon (1860-1942). Copyright © 2012 Magnolia Press.