Botryllus schlosseri – Wikipedia

after-content-x4 Botryllus Schlosseri
Scientific classification
Domain	Eukaryota
Kingdom	Animal
Sottoregno	EUMETAZO
Branch	Bilateria
Superphylum	Deuterostomia
Phylum	Chordata
Subphylum	Tunicated
Class	Ascidiax
Order	Stolidobranchia
Family	Styelidae
Type	Botryllus
Species	B. schlosseri
Binomiale nomenclature
Botryllus Schlosseri (Pallas, 1766)
Synonyms
Alcyonium boralasii (Turton, 1807) Alcyonium schlosseri (Pallas, 1766) Aplidium verrucosum (Dalyell, 1839) Botryllus aurolineatus (Giard, 1872) Botryllus badium (Alder & Hancock, 1912) (spelling error) Botryllus badius (Alder & Hancock, 1912) Botryllus bivittatus (Milne Edwards, 1841) Botryllus calendula (Giard, 1872) Botryllus calyculatus (Alder & Hancock, 1907) Botryllus castaneus (Alder & Hancock, 1848) Botryllus gascoi (Della Valle, 1877) Botryllus Gemmeus (Savigny, 1816) Botryllus gouldii (Verrill, 1871) Botryllus marionis (Giard, 1872) Botryllus miniatus (Alder & Hancock, 1912) Botryllus minute (Savigny, 1816) Botryllus morio (Giard, 1872) Botryllus polycyclus (Savigny, 1816) Botryllus pruinosus (Giard, 1872) Botryllus rubens (Alder & Hancock, 1848) Botryllus rust (Giard, 1872) Botryllus smaragdus (Milne Edwards, 1841) Botryllus stellatus (GAERTNER, 1774) Botryllus violaceus (Milne Edwards, 1841) Botryllus violatinctus (Hartmeyer, 1909) Botryllus Virescence (Alder & Hancock, 1848) (Fonte: WoRMS)
Common names
Botrillo

Botryllus Schlosseri ( Pallas, 1766 ) It is a colonial group of the Styelidae family.

It forms encrusting colonies, of gelatinous consistency, up to 5 cm long and about 2 cm wide.
The zooids, 2–3 mm long, are aggregated in tufts from 3 to 16 individuals arranged in a circle around a common cloacal opening, taking on a typical flower or star shape.
The coloring is extremely variable: they range from black to black, passing through orange, red, brown, green and purple.

Can be confused with Botrylloides leachii , whose colonies, however, have generally more elongated and nastriform form.

It is an invasive species that in the last 100 years has significantly extended its area: it is present on both the banks of the Atlantic, from Maine to Florida on the eastern side and from the Faroe islands to Portugal on the western side, as well as in the Mediterranean Sea and in black Sea.

It grows on rocky seabed, algae and often also on artificial substrates (Moli, docks, Cime).
It develops optimally at low depths but it is possible to find it up to 100 meters deep.

It reproduces, both sexual and gemmation throughout the year, with a peak of reproductive activity in the period from autumn to spring.

It develops starting from planktonic larvae that blocks on rocks and reproduce asexally, thus constituting a homogeneous colony, both from a genetic point of view and structurally. Sometimes it may happen that two colonies try to mix; If the larvae are the same from a genetic point of view then the fusion is possible, otherwise the host colony produces toxic substances aimed at rejecting the intruder. ^[first]

• Egidio Trainito, Atlas of Flora and Fauna of the Mediterranean , 2004th ed., Milan, Il Castello, 2004, ISBN 88-8039-395-2.
• Menytti A., Ghisotti A Ti Flora and Fauna of the Mediterranean , Mondadori, 2003, ISBN 88-04-38574-X.
• Andrew J. Martinez, Marine Life of the North Atlantic: Canada to New England , Aqua Quest Publications, 2003, ISBN 1-881652-32-7.