Biodiversity & Conservation

Sea grapes - Molgula manhattensis - General information

Molgula manhattensis

Image Keith Hiscock - Molgula manhattensis dominated seabed, Middle Channel Rocks, entrance to Milford Haven. Image width ca 50 cm.
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Distribution map

Molgula manhattensis 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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Molgula manhattensis 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 Distributed all around Britain and Ireland but no records from the east basin of the Irish Sea.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Attached to bedrock, boulders, stones and shells in the littoral and sublittoral to depths of 90 m. Molgula manhattensis is found especially in ports and harbours.
Text page icon Description A rounded solitary ascidian about 1-3 cm across that often occurs in dense clusters. The colour is grey or greenish-blue and the test is covered with fibrils that may or may not be attached with sand grains, shell fragments etc.

This review can be cited as follows:

Dr Keith Hiscock 2008. Molgula manhattensis. Sea grapes. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 19/05/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=3823>