Pyura pachydermatina

Pyura pachydermatina is a sea tulip, a solitary species of tunicate in the suborder Stolidobranchia. It is native to shallow waters around New Zealand.

Pyura pachydermatina
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Subphylum:
Tunicata
Class:
Ascidiacea
Order:
Pleurogona
Suborder:
Stolidobranchia
Family:
Pyuridae
Genus:
Pyura
Species:
P. pachydermatina
Binomial name
Pyura pachydermatina
(Herdman, 1881)[1]
Synonyms
  • Boltenia pachydermatina Herdman, 1881
  • Boltenia pedunculata Hutton, 1873
  • Pyura pachydermata (Herdman, 1881)

Description

Pyura pachydermatina has a club-shaped body supported by a long stalk, both being covered by a tough exterior tunic.[2] In colour it is off-white or a garish shade of reddish-purple. The stalk is two thirds to three quarters the length of the whole animal which helps distinguish it from certain invasive tunicates not native to New Zealand such as Styela clava and Pyura stolonifera.[3] It is one of the largest species of tunicates and can grow to over a metre (yard) in length.[4]

Distribution and habitat

Pyura pachydermatina is found attached to rocks in shallow, wave-swept areas of the seas around New Zealand. It is a filter feeder.[2] It is usually found subtidally and prefers cooler waters than does Pyura stolonifera.[3]

Biology

Pyura pachydermatina has a lifespan of about one year. It breeds in the winter after which the adult generation die. The planktonic larvae settle on the seabed in late winter and early spring. It co-exists with a parasitic ribbon worm, Gononemertes australiensis which lives in its digestive gland or body cavity. This has a similar annual life cycle, the peak of which is synchronised with that of its host. The ribbon worm larvae invade their hosts when they are juveniles soon after settlement and become precociously mature within three weeks. This means that the maximum number of ribbon worm larvae are available to invade the hosts when they are newly settled. Almost all the tunicates contain at least one worm.[5]

Research

Cells lining the gut of Pyura pachydermatina have been found to contain an insulin-like material in two forms that are immunologically active.[6]

The tissues of this tunicate are strengthened by the presence of two types of spicules. In the blood vessels in the tunic there are dogbone-shaped spicules and in the vessels in the body wall there are antler-shaped spicules.[2] These spicules have a core of amorphous calcium carbonate enveloped in an insoluble layer of organic material with a thick exterior covering of calcite. This is in contrast to the spicules of a sponge such as Clathrina which has a calcite core, a thick layer of amorphous calcium carbonate and a thin outer covering of calcite.[7]

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References
  1. Sanamyan, Karen (2012). "Pyura pachydermatina (Herdman, 1881)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2013-04-18.
  2. Lambert, Gretchen; Lambert, Charles C. (1996). "Spicule Formation in the New Zealand Ascidian Pyura pachydermatina (Chordata, Ascidiacea)". Connective Tissue Research. 34 (4): 263–269. doi:10.3109/03008209609005270. PMID 9084635.
  3. "Pyura". Biosecurity in New Zealand. Ministry for Primary Industries, New Zealand Government. Archived from the original on 2013-02-09. Retrieved 2013-04-19.
  4. Ruppert, Edward E.; Fox, Richard, S.; Barnes, Robert D. (2004). Invertebrate Zoology, 7th edition. Cengage Learning. p. 941. ISBN 81-315-0104-3.
  5. Egan, Elizabeth A. (1984). "The seasonal reproductive cycle of the nemertean Gononemertes australiensis Gibson in relation to that of its ascidian host, Pyura pachydermatina (Herdman)". Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology. 76 (3): 225–246. doi:10.1016/0022-0981(84)90190-4.
  6. Galloway, S. M.; Cutfield, J. F. (1988). "Insulin-like material from the digestive tract of the tunicate Pyura pachydermatina (sea tulip)". General and Comparative Endocrinology. 69 (1): 106–113. doi:10.1016/0016-6480(88)90058-5. PMID 3282971.
  7. Aizenberg, J.; Weiner, S.; Addadi, L. (2003). "Coexistence of amorphous and crystalline calcium carbonate in skeletal tissues". Connective Tissue Research. 44 (1): 20–25. doi:10.1080/713713602. PMID 12952169.
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