Blainville, 1824
Sea-squirts, tunicates or ascidians
The ascidians constitute a class of the subphylum Tunicata. which are chordate animals related to the vertebrates. The adults of ascidians are sessile but the larvae of most species are motile forms, known as tadpole larvae because of their shape.
The exact relationship of this class of chordates is obscure and the chordate nature of the ascidians is more apparent in the notochord and dorsal central nervous system of the larva than in any adult character.
Treated taxa:
- Order Enterogona
- Family Ascidiidae
- Genus Ascidiella