The rounded, pigmented guts of these salps are clearly visible in the individual salps in this chain. The way these asexual zooids are attached to each other gives hints as to the genus. If the zooids are arranged in a circle, then the genus is probably Cyclosalpa; as a helix it is probably Helicosalpa. The exact number of muscle bands and where, or if, the bands merged with one another are important taxonomic characters to tell salp species apart. The present species could well belong to the genus Salpa.
Salps
Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research, 2017 Laulima O Ka Moana.
The rounded, pigmented guts of these salps are clearly visible in the individual salps in this chain. The way these asexual zooids are attached to each other gives hints as to the genus. If the zooids are arranged in a circle, then the genus is probably Cyclosalpa; as a helix it is probably Helicosalpa. The exact number of muscle bands and where, or if, the bands merged with one another are important taxonomic characters to tell salp species apart. The present species could well belong to the genus Salpa. Download larger version (jpg, 1.3 MB).
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