More than 2200 species of the wild flora and fauna photographed in Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, Mexico and the surrounding area.
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Tunicates of Zihuatanejo
SUBPHYLUM TUNICATA
-Tunicates (Subphylum Tunicata)
-Sea Squirts (Class Ascidiacea)
-Order Stolidobranchia
-Family Styelidae
-Genus Metandrocarpa
Metandrocarpa is a genus of colonial sea squirts within the class Ascidiacea, commonly found in shallow marine environments. Species of Metandrocarpa form small, encrusting colonies composed of numerous tiny individual zooids embedded in a shared gelatinous tunic. The colonies often appear as thin, patch-like mats on rocks, coral rubble, mangrove roots, docks, and other submerged surfaces. Each zooid has incurrent and excurrent siphons for filter feeding, drawing in seawater to extract plankton and organic particles before expelling it. Colonies are typically translucent to yellowish, orange, or reddish in color, sometimes with contrasting siphon openings.
Description
• Metandrocarpa is a genus of marine tunicates in the class Ascidiacea, subphylum Tunicata. These invertebrates, commonly known as sea squirts, are generally attached to submerged surfaces and have sac-like bodies enclosed in a protective tunic. They possess inhalant and exhalant siphons that circulate seawater through the body for feeding and respiration. Species-specific body shapes, colours, and growth patterns vary.
Range
• The distribution of Metandrocarpa varies by species, with members recorded in marine waters in different parts of the world. The genus is represented in the waters of Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, and the surrounding area.
Habitat
• Species of Metandrocarpa live attached to hard substrates, such as rocks, shells, coral rubble, and other submerged surfaces. They occur in coastal marine habitats, including rocky shores and reef environments, where water movement provides a steady supply of suspended food particles.
Diet
• Metandrocarpa are filter feeders. They draw seawater into the body and use a mucus-lined pharyngeal basket to trap bacteria, microscopic plankton, and suspended organic particles before expelling the filtered water through the exhalant siphon.
Metandrocarpa - Colonial Sea Squirt
Metandrocarpa (Genus)
