Skip to main content Skip to main navigation menu Skip to site footer
Responsive image
Issue: Vol. 5701 No. 2: 2 Oct. 2025
Type: Article
Published: 2025-10-02
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5701.2.4
Page range: 149-166
Abstract views: 86
PDF downloaded: 1

First record of Herdmania pallida (Ascidiacea: Stolidobranchia: Pyuridae) in South Korea and genetic evidence suggesting cryptic diversity

Department of Environmental Horticulture; Graduate School of Sahmyook University; Seoul; Korea; Marine Animal Biodiversity Center; Sahmyook University; Seoul; Korea
Department of Environmental Horticulture; Graduate School of Sahmyook University; Seoul; Korea; Marine Animal Biodiversity Center; Sahmyook University; Seoul; Korea
Department of Environmental Horticulture; Graduate School of Sahmyook University; Seoul; Korea; Marine Animal Biodiversity Center; Sahmyook University; Seoul; Korea
Department of Animal Resources Science; Sahmyook University; Seoul; Korea
Marine Animal Biodiversity Center; Sahmyook University; Seoul; Korea; Department of Animal Resources Science; Sahmyook University; Seoul; Korea
Tunicata Sea squirt taxonomy morphology phylogeny COI

Abstract

The first record of Herdmania pallida (Ascidiacea: Stolidobranchia: Pyuridae) in South Korea is presented based on specimens collected from Jejudo Island. The specimens displayed morphological characteristics consistent with H. pallida, such as body form, branchial sac structure, and gonad arrangement, thus clearly differentiating them from other Herdmania species found in Korea (H. japonica, H. mirabilis, and H. momus). Seven partial sequences (856 bp) of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene were obtained from the Korean specimens. Pairwise distance analysis indicated an average divergence of 9.8 % from three H. pallida reference sequences obtained from GenBank. The phylogenetic analysis further supported that the Korean specimens constitute a distinct clade and appear to be paraphyletic relative to the GenBank H. pallida sequences. These findings suggest potential cryptic diversity within the species and highlight the necessity for more extensive research. The study emphasizes the importance of broader geographic and population-level sampling, which will contribute significantly to better understanding species boundaries and clarifying the taxonomic status of H. pallida.

 

References

  1. Ayuningrum, D., Kristiana, R., Trianto, A., Radjasa, O.K., Sabdono, A. & Sibero, M.T. (2019) The uncultured gamma proteobacterium and culturable associated-bacteria from tunicate Herdmania momus. AIP Conference Proceedings, 2120 (1), 08004 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5115742
  2. Bouchemousse, S., Lévêque, L., Dubois, G. & Viard, F. (2016) Co-occurrence and reproductive synchrony do not ensure hybridization between an alien tunicate and its interfertile native congener. Evolutionary Ecology, 30, 69–87. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-015-9788-1
  3. Brunetti, R., Manni, L., Mastrototaro, F., Gissi, C. & Gasparini, F. (2017) Fixation, description and DNA barcode of a neotype for Botryllus schlosseri (Pallas, 1766) (Tunicata, Ascidiacea). Zootaxa, 4353 (1), 29–50. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4353.1.2
  4. Caputi, L., Andreakis, N., Mastrototaro, F., Cirino, P., Vassillo, M. & Sordino, P. (2007) Cryptic speciation in a model invertebrate chordate. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 104 (22), 9364–9369. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0610158104
  5. Das, S.M. (1940) On Herdmania (Rhabdocynthia) ennurensis n. sp. (A new Monascidian from Madras). Proceedings of the Indian Academy of Sciences, 11B, 50–61. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03048098
  6. Drasche, R. (1884) Ueber einige neue und weniger bekannte ausser-europaische einfache Ascidien. Denkschriften der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften Mathematisch-Naturwissenschaftlichen Classe, 48, 369–386.
  7. Dror, H., Novak, L., Evans, J.S., López-Legentil, S. & Shenkar, N. (2019) Core and dynamic microbial communities of two invasive ascidians: can host–symbiont dynamics plasticity affect invasion capacity? Microbial Ecology, 78, 170–184. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00248-018-1276-z
  8. Edler, D., Klein, J., Antonelli, A. & Silvestro, D. (2021) raxmlGUI 2.0: a graphical interface and toolkit for phylogenetic analyses using RAxML. Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 12 (2), 373–377. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13512
  9. Hartmeyer, R. & Michaelsen, W. (1928) Ascidiae Diktyobranchiae und Ptychobranchiae. Fauna Südwest-Australien, 5, 251–460.
  10. Heller, C. (1878) Beitrage zur nahern Kenntniss der Tunicaten. Sitzungsberichte der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Wien, 77, 83–110.
  11. Herdman, W.A. (1891) A revised classification of the Tunicata, with definitions of the orders, sub-orders, families, subfamilies and genera, and analytical keys to the species. Journal of the Linnean Society of London, Zoology, 23 (148), 558–652. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1891.tb02403.x
  12. Herdman, W.A. (1906) Report on the Tunicata collected by Prof. Herdman at Ceylon in 1902. Report on the Ceylon Pearl Oyster Fisheries, 5, 295–348. https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.s2-50.200.581
  13. Hubert, N. & Hanner, R. (2015) DNA barcoding, species delineation and taxonomy: a historical perspective. DNA Barcodes, 3 (1), 44–58. https://doi.org/10.1515/dna-2015-0006
  14. Jaffar Ali, H.A. & Ahmed, N.S. (2016) DNA barcoding of two solitary ascidians, Herdmania momus Savigny, 1816 and Microcosmus squamiger Michaelsen, 1927 from Thoothukudi coast, India. Mitochondrial DNA, Part A, 27 (4), 3005–3007. https://doi.org/10.3109/19401736.2015.1060479
  15. Katoh, K., Misawa, K., Kuma, K.I. & Miyata, T. (2002) MAFFT: A novel method for rapid multiple sequence alignment based on fast Fourier transform. Nucleic Acids Research, 30 (14), 3059–3066. https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkf436
  16. Kimura, M. (1980) A simple method for estimating evolutionary rates of base substitutions through comparative studies of nucleotide sequences. Journal of Molecular Evolution, 16, 111–120. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01731581
  17. Kott, P. (2002) The genus Herdmania Lahille, 1888 (Tunicata, Ascidiacea) in Australian waters. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 134 (3), 359–374. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1096-3642.2002.00009.x
  18. Lee, S.S.C., Teo, S.L.M. & Lambert, G. (2013) New records of solitary ascidians on artificial structures in Singapore waters. Marine Biodiversity Records, 6, e93. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1755267213000638
  19. Malfant, M., Darras, S. & Viard, F. (2018) Coupling molecular data and experimental crosses sheds light about species delineation: a case study with the genus Ciona. Scientific reports, 8 (1), 1480. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-19811-2
  20. MBRIS (Marine Bio-Resource Information System) (2025) National list of marine species. Available from: https://www.mbris.kr/pub/main/publicMainPage.do (accessed 3 April 2025)
  21. Michaelsen, W. (1905) Revision von Heller’s Ascidien-Typen aus dem Museum Godeffroy. Zoologische Jahrbücher Supplement, 8, 71–120.
  22. Michaelsen, W. (1908) Die Pyuriden (Halocynthiiden) des Naturhistorischen Museums zu Hamburg. Mitteilungen aus dem Zoologischen Museum in Hamburg, 25, 227–287.
  23. Michaelsen, W. (1918a) Die Ptychobranchen und Diktyobranchen Ascidien des westlichen Indischen Ozeans. Jahrbuch der Hamburgischen Wissenschaftlichen Anstalten, 35 (2), 1–71.
  24. Michaelsen, W. (1918b) Expedition S.M. Schiff ‘Pola’ in das Roten Meer nördliche und südliche Hälfte 1895–96–1897/98 zoologische Ergebnisse, xxxii Ascidia Ptychobranchia und Dictyobranchia des Roten Meeres. Denkschriften der Akademie der Wissenschaften Wien, 134, 1–120.
  25. Mondal, J., Raghunathan, C. & Chandra, K. (2017) A new species of Ascidiacea (Herdmania andamanensis sp. nov.) from Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India. Zootaxa, 4286 (3), 445–450. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4286.3.13
  26. Mondal, J., Raghunathan, C., Mondal, T. & Venkataraman, K. (2016) Addition of three stolidobranch ascidian fauna to Indian waters from Andaman group of Islands. Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research, 24 (8), 2439–2443. https://doi.org/10.5829/idosi.mejsr.2016.24.08.102156
  27. Monniot, C. (2002) Stolidobranch ascidians from the tropical western Indian Ocean. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 135 (1), 65–120. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1096-3642.2002.00017.x
  28. Monniot, C. & Monniot, F. (1989) Ascidies (Musorstom 1 et 2). In: Forest, J. (Ed.), Résultats des Campagnes Musorstom. Vol. 4. Mémoires du Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Series A, 143, pp. 229–245.
  29. Monniot, C. & Monniot, F. (1991) Tunicata : peuplements d’ascidies profondes en Nouvelle-Calédonie. Diversité des stratégies adaptatives. In: Crosnier, A. (Ed.), Résultats des campagnes MUSORSTOM. Vol. 8. Mémoires du Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Series A, 151, pp. 357–448.
  30. Monniot, F. & Debitus, C. (2015) Redescription of Herdmania papietensis Herdman, 1882 (Ascidiacea, Pyuridae) from Polynesia. Zootaxa, 3911 (2), 294–300. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3911.2.11
  31. Monniot, F. & Monniot, C. (2001) Ascidians from the tropical western Pacific. Zoosystema, 23 (2), 201–388.
  32. Monniot, F. & Monniot, C. (2003) Ascidies de la pente externe et bathyales de l'ouest Pacifique. Zoosystema, 25 (4), 681–749.
  33. Nishikawa, T. (2002) Revision of the ascidian genus Herdmania (Urochordata: Ascidiacea) inhabiting Japanese waters. Species Diversity, 7 (3), 217–250. https://doi.org/10.12782/specdiv.7.217
  34. Nydam, M.L. & Harrison, R.G. (2007) Genealogical relationships within and among shallow-water Ciona species (Ascidiacea). Marine Biology, 151, 1839–1847. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-007-0617-0
  35. Nydam, M.L., Giesbrecht, K.B. & Stephenson, E.E. (2017) Origin and dispersal history of two colonial ascidian clades in the Botryllus schlosseri species complex. PloS One, 12 (1), e0169944. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0169944
  36. Pérez-Portela, R., Bishop, J.D.D., Davis, A.R. & Turon, X. (2009) Phylogeny of the families Pyuridae and Styelidae (Stolidobranchiata, Ascidiacea) inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 50 (3), 560–570. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ympev.2008.11.014
  37. Pérez-Portela, R., Arranz, V., Rius, M. & Turon, X. (2013) Cryptic speciation or global spread? The case of a cosmopolitan marine invertebrate with limited dispersal capabilities. Scientific Reports, 3, 3197. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep03197
  38. Posada, D. (2008) jModelTest: phylogenetic model averaging. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 25 (7), 1253–1256. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msn083
  39. Rambaut, A. (2009) FigTree. Tree figure drawing tool. Available from: http://tree.bio.ed.ac.uk/software/figtree/
  40. Rho, B.J. (1977) Illustrated Flora and Fauna of Korea (Porifera, Hydrozoa and Ascidiacea). Ministry of Education, Seoul, 20, 101–136 + 289–374.
  41. Rho, B.J. & Huh, M.K. (1984) A systematic study on the ascidians in Korea. Korean Institute of Life Science, 33, 99–136.
  42. Rho, B.J. & Lee, J.E. (1989) A systematic study on the ascidians from Cheju Island, Korea. Animal Systematics, Evolution and Diversity, 5 (1), 59–76.
  43. Rius, M., Pascual, M. & Turon, X. (2008) Phylogeography of the widespread marine invader Microcosmus squamiger (Ascidiacea) reveals high genetic diversity of introduced populations and non‐independent colonizations. Diversity and Distributions, 14 (5), 818–828. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1472-4642.2008.00485.x
  44. Rius, M. & Shenkar, N. (2012) Ascidian introductions through the Suez Canal: The case study of an Indo-Pacific species. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 64 (10), 2060–2068. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.06.029
  45. Rocha, R.M., Bonnet, N.Y., Baptista, M.S. & Beltramin, F.S. (2012a) Introduced and native phlebobranch and stolidobranch solitary ascidians (Tunicata: Ascidiacea) around Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. Zoologia, Curitiba, 29, 39–53. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1984-46702012000100005
  46. Rocha, R.M.D., Zanata, T.B. & Moreno, T.R. (2012b) Keys for the identification of families and genera of Atlantic shallow water ascidians. Biota Neotropica, 12, 269–303. https://doi.org/10.1590/S1676-06032012000100022
  47. Ronquist, F. & Huelsenbeck, J.P. (2003) MrBayes 3: Bayesian phylogenetic inference under mixed models. Bioinformatics, 19 (12), 1572–1574. https://doi.org/10.1093/bioinformatics/btg180
  48. Singh, T.R., Tsagkogeorga, G., Delsuc, F., Blanquart, S., Shenkar, N., Loya, Y., Douzery, E.J. & Huchon, D. (2009) Tunicate mitogenomics and phylogenetics: peculiarities of the Herdmania momus mitochondrial genome and support for the new chordate phylogeny. BMC Genomics, 10, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2164-10-534
  49. Sluiter, C.P. (1885) Über einige einfache Ascidian von der Insel Billiton. Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch-Indië, 45, 160–232.
  50. Sluiter, C.P. (1887) Einfache Ascidien aus der Bai von Batavia. Natuurkundig Tijdschrift voor Nederlandsch-Indië, 46, 242–266.
  51. Smith, K.F., Cahill, P.L. & Fidler, A.E. (2010) First record of the solitary ascidian Ciona savignyi Herdman, 1882 in the Southern Hemisphere. Aquatic Invasions, 5 (4), 363–368. https://doi.org/10.3391/ai.2010.5.4.05
  52. Streit, O.T., Lambert, G., Erwin, P.M. & López-Legentil, S. (2021) Diversity and abundance of native and non-native ascidians in Puerto Rican harbors and marinas. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 167, 112262. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2021.112262
  53. Van Name, W.G. (1918) Ascidians from the Philippines and adjacent waters. Bulletin of the United States National Museum, 100 (1), 49–174.

How to Cite

Kwon, S., Lee, J., Jeon, S., Jeong, H. & Lee, T. (2025) First record of Herdmania pallida (Ascidiacea: Stolidobranchia: Pyuridae) in South Korea and genetic evidence suggesting cryptic diversity. Zootaxa, 5701 (2), 149–166. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5701.2.4