Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.2006, Page 146

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SOLITARY ASCIDIANS (TUNICATA, ASCIDIACEA
AND SORBERACEA) OF THE FAROES
T1 V U ' rn
L/ c i )
Fif’ure 14. BIOFAR records of Ascidiella scabra.
BIOFAR area: Mainly coastal rccords; a few off shorc
records on the plateau east of the islands (Fig. 14).
BIOFAR depth range: 5-300 m.
BIOFAR tcmpcratures: Estimated range 6.7 to 8.1 °C.
BIOFAR water mass: Mainly AW.
North Atlantic/Nordic Seas distribution: Ascidiella
scabra has its area of distribution along thc southern
coasts of Norway south of Trondhcim, westcrn coast
of Sweden, the entire North Sea area, thc coasts of
Great Britain and Ireland, Shetland, and Faroes (Mil-
Iar, 1966).
General distribution: In addition to above, it occurs along
the coasts of thc Lusitanian region; in thc Mediter-
ranean it occurs along the northcrn coasts, and it is
recorded in the Black Sea.
General depth range: From shallow water to 400 m (Ám-
báck-Christie-Lindc, 1934).
Rcmarks: Hartmeycr( 1924) identifieđ all thc FaroeseÆv-
cidiella records as A. aspersa; the two European
forms were not regarded as diffcrent species at that
time. Sincc subsequent records all arc identified as
A. scahra, I assume that the early records of Hart-
meyer also arc of thc form scabra. Naturally, this
ought to be confirmed by re-examination of thc spcc-
imens at the Zoological Museum in Copenhagen.
Aside from the European records, A. scabra was
recorded in Nagasaki, south of the Japan Sea in 1861 >
and termed Ascidiella virginea (Miiller). A re-exaffl-
ination by Nishikawa and Otani (2004) stated that the
specimens were identical with A. scabra; given the
fact that the species never has been recorded since,
the records of A. scabra in Nagasaki probably refled
an ephemeral occurrence.
Order STOLIDOBRANCHIA
Family: STYELIDAE
Genus: Styela Fleming, 1822
Styela atlantica (Van Name, 1912)
Gooddescription: Van Name, 1912:552-555; pls. 59,60>
and 68; Van Namc, 1945; Millar, 1966: 70, flg. 45-
Prcvious records: Nonc.