Tunicates of Zihuatanejo

SUBPHYLUM TUNICATA

-Thaliaceans (Class Thaliacea)

-Order Salpida

-Salps (Family Salpidae)

-Subfamily Salpinae

-Genus Pegea

Salps of the genus Pegea are pelagic, gelatinous tunicates commonly found in open-ocean waters. Pegea salps have a barrel-shaped, transparent, gelatinous body, typically a few centimetres long. The tunic is firm yet flexible. The body is nearly invisible in seawater, with internal organs clearly visible. They are highly efficient filter feeders, capable of consuming very small plankton, including picoplankton. Unlike jellyfish, salps lack nematocysts and cannot sting.

Description

• Pegea is a genus of pelagic tunicates in the class Ascidiacea, subphylum Tunicata. Unlike most sea squirts, which attach to solid surfaces as adults, members of Pegea live freely in the open ocean. They have transparent or translucent, gelatinous bodies with muscular bands and siphons that help circulate water through the body. Their relatively delicate appearance makes them well adapted to life drifting in the water column.

Range

• Species of Pegea occur in tropical and subtropical marine waters around the world. The genus is associated with offshore and open-water environments, including the waters of Zihuatanejo, Guerrero, and the surrounding area.

Habitat

• Pegea inhabits the pelagic zone, drifting with ocean currents in surface and upper-water layers. Individuals may occur in warm coastal waters as well as farther offshore, where currents and water movement influence their distribution.

Diet

• Pegea are filter feeders that consume microscopic plankton and suspended organic particles. They pump seawater through their bodies and use specialised mucus structures to capture small food particles before expelling the filtered water.