Didemnum delectum

Didemnum delectum
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Size: 10 cm

Distribution: All SA gulf and coastal waters

Habitat: Rocky reef and jetty pylons

Depth: 2 to 10+ metres

Didemnum delectum

This cream to pale pink colonial ascidian is one of the few from the family Didemnidae that can be reasonably identified without expert examination. It differs from other didemnids by the zooid-free areas that radiate from the common openings, corresponding to sub-surface cloacal canals. The common apertures themselves are terminal on the colony's raised lobes. This species is similar to other colonial ascidians such as Aplidium opacum, but can be distinguished by the comparitavely less irregular lobes and common cloacal apertures, which are generally more circular in shape, as well as its stellate branchial apertures.