Biodiversity & Conservation

A sea squirt - Ascidiella scabra - General information

Ascidiella scabra

Image Hilmar Hinz - Ascidiella scabra. Image width ca XX cm.
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Distribution map

Ascidiella scabra recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

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Ascidiella scabra is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Dr Keith Hiscock Text page icon Refereed by: This information is not refereed.

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy

Phylum Chordata Sea squirts, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals
Class Ascidiacea Sea squirts
Map icon Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland Present all around Britain and Ireland.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Present attached to natural and artificial hard substrata. Also present attached to algae such as Fucus serratus and on kelp stipes. Lindsay and Thompson (1930) suggested a depth range of 5-300 m although records from fucoid algae indicate intertidal occurrence.
Text page icon Description Ascidiella scabra is a small solitary ascidian (usually <4cm long) with an ovate body and anterior siphons separated by a distance about one quarter the body length. The test is semi-transparent and usually tinged red.

This review can be cited as follows:

Dr Keith Hiscock 2006. Ascidiella scabra. A sea squirt. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 22/05/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=2628>