EASIN - European Alien Species Information Network
Microcosmus anchylodeirus (Ascidia): possibly a new alien species for the Mediterranean
Several specimens of Microcosmus anchylodeirus Traustedt, 1883 were successively collected by divers along the shores of southern Corsica.
Several specimens of Microcosmus anchylodeirus Traustedt, 1883 were successively collected by divers along the shores of southern Corsica.
The species is recorded for the first time from the Mediterranean Sea.
These ascidians correspond well from morphology features to Atlantic specimens from the Caribbean islands and also to those described from Brazil. Pacific specimens identified as Microcosmus multitentaculatus Tokioka, 1953 from Japan and Korea have been examined and are now considered as junior synonyms of Microcosmus anchylodeirus, a species whose origin is not known.