Creeping sea squirt (Perophora japonica)
Colony of Perophora japonica on fucoid alga.
Photographer: David Nicholson Copyright: Marine Biological Association of the UK (MBA)
Perophora japonica growing on Ascidiella aspersa.
Photographer: Judith Oakley Copyright: Judith Oakley
Perophora japonica growing on rope hanging from marina pontoon.
Photographer: Judith Oakley Copyright: Judith Oakley
Perophora japonica on Styela clava
Photographer: Dr John Bishop Copyright: Dr John Bishop
Perophora japonica terminal buds
Photographer: Dr John Bishop Copyright: Dr John Bishop
Several zooids with cluster of terminal buds.
Photographer: Dorothea Sommerfeldt Copyright: Marine Biological Association of the UK (MBA)
Single zooid and terminal buds at high magnification.
Photographer: Dorothea Sommerfeldt Copyright: Marine Biological Association of the UK (MBA)
Whole colony of Perophora japonica on fucoid alga.
Photographer: David Nicholson Copyright: Marine Biological Association of the UK (MBA)
Distribution data supplied by the Ocean Biodiversity Information System (OBIS). To interrogate UK data visit the NBN Atlas.Map Help
| Researched by | Dr John Bishop | Refereed by | Admin |
| Authority | Oka, 1927 | ||
| Other common names | Colonial sea squirt | Synonyms | - |
Summary
Description
Colonies of small, translucent zooids (approximately 4 mm long) budded from stolons and generally rather closely packed. Young parts of colony are yellow or greenish-yellow. Stolons may bear angular, often star-shaped, terminal buds, which are bright yellow.
Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland
Recorded in Queen Anne's Battery Marina, Plymouth Sound; the Fleet, Dorset approximately 130 km from Plymouth, and in Guernsey.Global distribution
Also recorded from the English Channel coast of France. Originally described in Japan, and reported from Korea.Habitat
At Plymouth, it grows on fucoid algae, hydroids and artificial settlement panels on the underside of a floating pontoon. In France, it is reported growing on Sargassum muticum, fucoid algae, Laminaria spp., sponges, solitary ascidians, oysters, and directly on floating pontoons.Depth range
-Identifying features
No text entered
Additional information
First recorded in Queen Annes Battery Marina, Plymouth Sound (first noted in 1999; see Nishikawa et al., 2000). Baldock & Bishop (2001) reported Perophora japonica in the Fleet, Dorset approximately 130 km from Plymouth. It was recorded in Guernsey in 2003 (Richard Lord pers comm.).
Listed by
- none -
Bibliography
Baldock, B. & Bishop, J.D.D., 2001. Occurrence of the non-native ascidian Perophora japonica in the Fleet, southern England. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 81, 1067.
Howson, C.M. & Picton, B.E., 1997. The species directory of the marine fauna and flora of the British Isles and surrounding seas. Belfast: Ulster Museum. [Ulster Museum publication, no. 276.]
Monniot, C. & Monniot, F, 1985. Apparition de l'ascidie Perophora japonica sur les côtes et dans les ports de la Manche. Compte Rendu de la Société de Biogéographie, 61, 111-116.
Nishikawa, T. Bishop, J.D.D. & Sommerfeldt, A.D., 2000. Occurrence of the alien ascidian Perophora japonica at Plymouth. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom, 80, 955-956.
Datasets
Centre for Environmental Data and Recording, 2018. Ulster Museum Marine Surveys of Northern Ireland Coastal Waters. Occurrence dataset https://www.nmni.com/CEDaR/CEDaR-Centre-for-Environmental-Data-and-Recording.aspx accessed via NBNAtlas.org on 2018-09-25.
Fenwick, 2018. Aphotomarine. Occurrence dataset http://www.aphotomarine.com/index.html Accessed via NBNAtlas.org on 2018-10-01
NBN (National Biodiversity Network) Atlas. Available from: https://www.nbnatlas.org.
OBIS (Ocean Biodiversity Information System), 2025. Global map of species distribution using gridded data. Available from: Ocean Biogeographic Information System. www.iobis.org. Accessed: 2025-05-31
Citation
This review can be cited as:
Last Updated: 16/08/2005
