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Abstract
A total of 17 species from the families Styelidae, Polyclinidae, Polycitoridae, Pseudodistomidae, Ritterellidae and Didemnidae are described for the first time in collections from remote fiords with steep-sided walls, high rainfall and high tidal flow on the south-west coast of New Zealand. The Fiordland ascidian assemblages are composed of endemic species, species with trans-Tasman affinities, species found in southern New Zealand and species found New Zealand wide, some of which have global distributions. Two Australian native species, Diplosoma velatum Kott, 2001 and Didemnum jucundum Kott, 2001 from South Australia are new records to New Zealand and a further eight species remain undescribed. Two new colonial ascidians Aplidium coronum sp. nov. and Trididemnum shawi sp. nov. are described in this paper.
http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:5ADC2C9D-28AC-4348-8B4D-F26-2A43DEA66
Acknowledgements
Ascidian collections and manuscript preparation were funded by The Department of Conservation (DoC), the DoC Biodiversity China Shops and Deep Reefs Expedition (contract FMA08/2) in 2009, the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) and by the NIWA Foundation for Science and Research Biotechnology Programme in 2006. Individually, we would like to acknowledge the invaluable assistance of the skippers and crew of the DoC research vessel ‘Southern Winds’; Peter Young, Mark Peychers and Richard Kinsey. Our thanks go to Kath Blakemore from DoC for support and patience when dealing with unruly divers and scientists. Special dedication is given to the late Dr Patricia Mather, Queensland Museum; it is because of her life-time commitment to the study of Ascidiacea and encouragement that this manuscript has ‘seen the light of day’. Finally, we especially thank Dr Michelle Kelly for her mentorship and the anonymous reviewers who have helped improve this manuscript immeasurably.