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Botrylloides leachi

(Savigny, 1816)


Erling Svensen The Botrylloides leachi is very common in Norway. But - there is some strange forms of this colonial ascidien. Can anybody say something about this picture? Would it be the same specie - or two different ones?

Erling Svensen I have never heard about that one?

Erling Svensen It is native in the Pasific - and came to Netherland (Holland) in 2000. But I have seen this where I live on the South West corner of Norway for at least 10 years. So it is probably the same specie.

Charlotte Bolton The MarLIN marine aliens guide (www.marlin.ac.uk/PDF/alien_guide_online.pdf) does have a (small) image showing the zooids in paired rows like a zip...

Message posted on NE Atlantic Tunicata on 13 Dec 2012
Guido Villani Godiva quadricolor on Botrylloides leachi. Maremorto lagoon (Naples) 0,2 m

Anne Diver Beautiful!

Guido Villani Mani thanks!

Message posted on EPAM Nudibranchs on 20 Jul 2013
Ilan Lubitz Sea squirt very unusual Anilao Batangas bay

Marylin Batt Very unusual colony.

Annette Graves A picture on the Australian Museum webite has a picture of Botrylloides leachi, which is growing in a very similar pattern, all I could find :)

Message posted on Scubashooters.net on 20 Mar 2013
Stephen Williams Sydney Harbour

Galina Maslova Wonderful pic

Sylvie Lalane que c est beau!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Stuart Pearce Very nice shot :)

Shane Arpas WOW!

Galina Maslova Beautiful

Ron Silver Leach's Ascidian, Botrylloides leachi

Ernst Andres Very NICE :-)

Message posted on The Global Diving Community on 28 Sep 2013
Paula Lightfoot More flatworms - these look different to the ones below - and just to upset David Kipling they are murdering sea squirts!!! These are from Skinningrove North Yorks. I was thinking the squirt is Botrylloides leachii rather than Bot schloss is that right?

David Kipling * sob *

Penny Martin These look like the ones I see here in Orkney .. also on Bot Leachii ... some have been blue

Paula Lightfoot That does look the same Penny - I would like to see a photo of a blue one!

Penny Martin Is it the same species ??

Message posted on Seasearch Identifications on 08 Oct 2013
Paula Lightfoot Is this Botrylloides leachii?

David Kipling Hayward and Ryland key-out the difference as follows: Zooids arranged in small, star-shaped clusters=Botryllus schlosseri Zooids arranged in sinuous parallel lines=Botrylloides leachii

David Kipling But since Bot schloss can readily have 12 zooids per star that doesn't help here ;( Would be nice to know if there are other differential features.

Paula Lightfoot I thought it was B leachii because the zooids are definitely in lines, but I don't want to get it wrong as I'm putting the photo on the Meet the Species website!

George Brown Looks like B. leachii to me but far from certain. The problem with small/juvenile species is that they've not had time to develop properly and so can look subtly different to larger/mature examples. As has been demonstrated many times in these groups we sometimes ask too much from a single photo.

Message posted on NE Atlantic Tunicata on 24 Aug 2012
David Kipling Eh? Take in a few metres of water on chalk reef, north Norfolk. I'm not sure I want to even guess phylum ...

David Kipling Bernard ... Wilfried ... do you think this is a weird squirt? [such as at some unusual point in its life cycle]

Bernard Picton My best guess would be Botrylloides leachii from the arrangement of the zooids. Are the siphons all sealed over?

Wilfried Bay-Nouailhat What an enigma for the end of the holidays! Nothing better to propose. Sea squirts are like fruits, when they are overripe, they are no longer identifiable ! ;o)

Message posted on Seasearch Identifications on 21 Aug 2012
Paula Lightfoot Is this Botrylloides leachii?

David Kipling Hayward and Ryland key-out the difference as follows: Zooids arranged in small, star-shaped clusters=Botryllus schlosseri Zooids arranged in sinuous parallel lines=Botrylloides leachii

David Kipling But since Bot schloss can readily have 12 zooids per star that doesn't help here ;( Would be nice to know if there are other differential features.

Paula Lightfoot I thought it was B leachii because the zooids are definitely in lines, but I don't want to get it wrong as I'm putting the photo on the Meet the Species website!

George Brown Looks like B. leachii to me but far from certain. The problem with small/juvenile species is that they've not had time to develop properly and so can look subtly different to larger/mature examples. As has been demonstrated many times in these groups we sometimes ask too much from a single photo.

Message posted on NE Atlantic Tunicata on 24 Aug 2012
Penny Martin And this one?? a squirt but not in my book.... Glorious colour

Penny Martin Botrylloides violaceus ???

David Kipling Yes. The other options would be Bot schloss (star-shaped clusters of zooids), or Botrylloides leachi (zooids arranged in 2 parallel chains like bits of this, but 2-tone in colour). I'd go with B. violaceus because of the single (vibrant!) colour, and the variable zooid layout (described as "roughly oval groups or meandering, occasionally branching, double rows or chains"). http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=2791#

David Kipling It's a non-native, recorded on S West coast of UK plus Milford Haven. Where was this specimen Penny?

Marc Herridge the photo was taken yesterday in orkney

David Kipling Eek!

David Kipling Was recorded in S West in 2004, and there are a couple of Scottish records, both in the Clyde. Troon yacht haven in 2009 and Wemyss Bay in 2010. I can't find anything further north than the Clyde, so this could be an important finding. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2011/03/16182005/59

David Kipling Worth having a word with Liz Cook at SAMS, she leads the Marine Aliens consortium. http://www.smi.ac.uk/elizabeth-cook

David Kipling I am still wondering at the back of my mind whether this is Botrylloides leachi (which NBN certainly does list as being in Orkney). Could you re-post to the NE Atlantic Tunicates group and we'll see what the experts say?

George Brown First impression suggests B. leachi but if you were to remove all the zooids you'd be left with something that looks like what Erling posted on Seasearch Identifications on the 26th February. Could something be eating only the zooids? I've a similar picture but would rather post in SI to maintain the thread.

David Kipling Do post George Brown.

Penny Martin HI, I can't find NE Atlantic Tunicates group ... is it a closed group ?

David Kipling http://www.facebook.com/groups/248476708561508/

Penny Martin Thanks for this .... but it is a closed group so I am not able to see anything or post anything !!

David Kipling I've put your name forward to join it (I'm a member but not admin).

Penny Martin Thank you.... I am fascinated by them and I am seeing lots up here in Orkney.

David Kipling Me too - I get very strange looks on foreign dive trips when I come up with pics of tunicates and everyone else has got "pretty" pics!

Becky Hitchin I had a squirty day today. Photos later ;)

David Kipling Yah!

Becky Hitchin We do have orange single coloured Botrylloidess in Kent than apparently is leachi

David Kipling Welcome to Penny Martin! Could anyone give some guidance on distinguishing Botrylloides violaceus from B. leachi based on in situ underwater images? Penny has some taken in Orkney that are causing us to scratch our heads a little, and help from the experts would be fabulous.

Wilfried Bay-Nouailhat B. violaceus could be distinguished by a wide margin without zooids around the colony and by its various colour forms orange, red, purple ...

David Kipling Do you have some pictures that you could post Wilfried, to illustrate the difference? Or some URLs to images that you trust.

David Kipling Most of the pictures of B violaceus that I have seen have shown a bright orange version, and the Marlin entry says that B leachi is "two tone" colour ("The one-toned colouration of Botrylloides violaceus distinguishes it from Botrylloides leachi and Botryllus schlosseri."). It was this that made me think B.violaceus for the Deer Sound image that Penny Martin has posted, but that doesn't have the wide margin you describe. http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesinformation.php?speciesID=2791

Becky Hitchin https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/nonnativespecies/index.cfm?pageid=135 - useful page!

David Kipling So based on that page do you think Penny Martin's bright orange specimen on this group is violaceus or leachi? I'm confused!

Becky Hitchin Based on marlin, I'd say violaceus, based on NNSS I'd say leachi!

David Kipling But NNSS doesn't say much except "can be bright orange" for violaceus, which is what Penny sees. Argh!!!

Becky Hitchin well it talks about a clear "jelly" over the surface, but mainly a distinctive pattern of zooids (which looks very different to marlin's pattern!)

Wilfried Bay-Nouailhat I don't think that colour as a single distinctive element is enough to identify botrylloides in situ. For the moment nothing is really clear concerning B. leachii colouration and probaby more than one species hides under that name in NE Atlantic waters. As for B. violaceus, the wide margin and the elongated ampula visible within that margin seems to be an interesting point. In that case, none of Penny Martin's pictures are B. violaceus, but they may not be B. leachii either. Here is a link to Y. Saito's website. http://www.shimoda.tsukuba.ac.jp/~hassei/index.html He studies botrylloides and there are many interesting things about their anatomy. And a page with pictures of B. violaceus http://www.shimoda.tsukuba.ac.jp/~hassei/animals/Botryllid/Species/violaceus.html

Becky Hitchin gosh, that's interesting - thank you!

David Kipling I think we need a trip to Orkney to visit Penny Martin and do some zooid dissection, don't you Becky?

Penny Martin Hey... that would be good ..... you would be very welcome .... just to look at these ??

Penny Martin I'm confused .... but they look like B. Violaceus to me ... I will go out and take some more photos if I can re find them !

David Kipling Always like Orkney - was there last year en route to Fair Isle on MV Halton. I think we need to get you a protocol and reagents so you can relax and fix these critters for dissection ... if you just rip them apart normally in sea water they contract up too much to be able to see anything. Then you can post samples to an expert to check if necessary.

Becky Hitchin David Kipling, I think that would be a great idea!

Message posted on NE Atlantic Tunicata on 09 Apr 2012
Taxonomy
Animalia (Kingdom)
  Chordata (Phylum)
    Tunicata (Subphylum)
      Ascidiacea (Class)
        Stolidobranchia (Order)
          Styelidae (Family)
            Botrylloides (Genus)
              Botrylloides leachi (Species)
Associated Species