Common Name: Giant Jelly Ascidian
Distribution: Relatively common in the Solitary Islands Marine Park. Distributed throughout the Indo-West Pacific: Australia and Papua New Guinea. In Australia recorded from all states.
Ecological Notes: Shallow sub-tidal waters, moderately exposed reef, depth to 400 m. Specimens pictured were located on rocky reef at around 8 – 12 m.
Additional Notes: A compound ascidian with a semi-transparent firm gelatinous body. Individual zooids are visible as either white or orange tubes radiating towards the body centre. They retract deeply if disturbed. Grows to around 30 cm across, often smaller.
References: Graham J. Edgar. Australian Marine Life, 2nd Edition, 2008. Reed New Holland Publishers. p. 442.
Atlas of Living Australia website at https://bie.ala.org.au/search?q=Polycitor+giganteus. Accessed 14/09/2022.
Palomares, M.L.D. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2018. SeaLifeBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.sealifebase.org. version (06/2018)https://www.sealifebase.ca/summary/Polycitor-giganteus.html. Accessed 14/09/2022.
