Lohmann, 1896

Description
Small sized species. The trunk is almost ovoid with the anterior third part broadened, pointened to the front. Mouth without lips.
The endostyle is short and moderately curved. There is no particular constellation of pharyngial glands. The testicle is sausage-shaped, curved along the rear and side wall of the posterior part of the body; at each end of the testes is an ovary mass. In old specimens, the testicles can become empty and therefore being invisible, whereas the ovocytes occupy entirely the both lateral parts of the trunk.
The tail has a narrow muscle band and tapers abruptly along the distal third part, ending in a rounded point. Glandular cells are visible in the tail fin.

Size
Trunk length 0.5-0.8 mm, length of tail 2.4 mm.

Depth range
Epipelagic.

Distribution in the North Sea
All North Sea.

World distribution
Semi-cosmopolitan species from the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans (absent from sub-polar and polar waters); also present in the Mediterranean Sea, where it occurs predominantly from 50 to 150 m during summer and autumn.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Tunicata
Class Appendicularia
Family Fritillaridae
Genus Fritillaria
Species Fritillaria gracilis

Status in World Register of Marine Species

Accepted name: Fritillaria gracilis Lohmann, 1896

Scientific synonyms and common names

Fritillaria (Acrocercus) gracilis | Lohmann, 1933

Bone, Q. (ed.), 1998. The biology of pelagic tunicates. Oxford University Press, Oxford. 340 pp.

Bückmann, A. and H. Kapp, 1975. Taxonomic characters used for the distinction of species of Appendicularia. Mitteilungen aus dem Hamburgischen Zoologischen Museum und Institut, 72: 201-228.

Bückmann, A., 1949. Tunicata, Appendicularia, I-III. Fiches d'Identification du Zooplancton, 7 (1945). Conseil International pour l'Exploration de la Mer, Kopenhagen.

Fenaux, R., 1967. Les appendiculaires des mers d'Europe et du Bassin Méditerranéen. Faune de l'Europe et du Bassin Méditerranéen, 2. Masson et Cie., Paris. 116 pp., 57 figs.

Fenaux, R., 1998. The classification of Appendicularia. In: Q. Bone (ed.), 1998. The biology of pelagic tunicates. Oxford University Press, Oxford. pp 295-306.

Lohmann, H., 1896. Die Appendicularien der Plankton-Expedition. Ergebnisse der Plankton-Expedition der Humbolt- Stiftung 1889. Bd. 2, EC. Verlag Lipsius und Tischer, Leipzig. pp 1-148, 20 plates, 3 maps.

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