Botryllus schlosseri - star ascidian

	DISSEMINATION

Geographic Range	it can be found form the Faeroe Islands and Norwey to the Mediterranean Sea, including the Black and the Adriatic Sea. It is found also in the western Atlantic form Maine to New Jersey and in Florida.
Physical Characteristics	it is found in colonies formed by zooids 2 - 4 millimeters across. Each zooid has all the structures, including buccal and atrial siphons. The zooids are connected by a stolonlike circulatory system, they are arranged in circular or stellate systems in which the atrial siphons of each zooid point to the center of the circle and share a common cloacal chamber and opening to the exterior.
Notes	blood is forced through the common circulatory system by contractions of numerous ampullae (small muscular sac) located in the tunic. Each zooid has all the structures expected of a solitary ascidian: there is buccal siphon, branchial basket, esophagus, stomach, intestine, and atrial siphon.
Habitat	it grows on a variety of stable substrata including algae and artificial substrata, in sheltered areas. It is found mainly in shallow depths.
Riproduction	a form of asexual multiplication in which a new individual begins life as an outgrowth from the body of the parent.

Sources
References	Botryllus - by Richard Fox Department of Biology Lander University MarLIN - The Marine Life Information Network for Britain & Ireland.
Web References	http://www.lander.edu/rsfox/botryllu.html http://www.marlin.ac.uk/
Source of the photo	http://www.marlin.ac.uk/cgi-bin/sp_images.asp?images=Botsch&topic=Species