Gray encrusting compound tunicate

Diplosoma listerianum

Other invertebrates
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth1–21 m
Water temperature9–29 °C
Best monthsJuly, August, and September
How commonOccasional

All species

Photo credit: (c) Rebekah Bajkó, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

Diplosoma is a genus of tunicates belonging to the family Didemnidae.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Diplosoma (tunicate)”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 143 records
February: 55 records
March: 119 records
April: 78 records
May: 127 records
June: 271 records
July: 520 records
August: 666 records
September: 698 records
October: 186 records
November: 79 records
December: 63 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–21 m · Deepest record: 79 m

0–10 m: 940 records
10–20 m: 404 records
20–30 m: 187 records
30–40 m: 21 records
40–50 m: 11 records
50–60 m: 5 records
60–70 m: 3 records
70–80 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 9–29 °C

8–10 °C: 74 records
10–12 °C: 319 records
12–14 °C: 261 records
14–16 °C: 3 records
16–18 °C: 25 records
18–20 °C: 3 records
20–22 °C: 1 records
22–24 °C: 48 records
24–26 °C: 23 records
26–28 °C: 15 records
28–30 °C: 5 records

Photos

(c) Cricket Raspet, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Cricket Raspet, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) tunicatedreamz, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Robin White, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Gavin Jones, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Ben Jobson, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Gray encrusting compound tunicate, Lister's didemnid, Ascidian, Compound sea squirt, gray encrusting compound tunicate, Jelly Crust Tunicate

Names in 3 more languages

German: Krusten-Seescheide
French: didemne gélatineux et transparent, Didemne gélatineux et transparent, didemnide de lister
Japanese: ネンエキボヤ

Other scientific names: Astellium spongiforme, Didemnum gelatinosum, Diplosoma atropunctatum, Diplosoma chamaelean, Diplosoma chamaeleon, Diplosoma cristallinum, Diplosoma crystallinum, Diplosoma cupuliferum, Diplosoma gelatinosum, Diplosoma lacteum, Diplosoma listeri, Diplosoma macdonaldi, Diplosoma mitsukuri, Diplosoma mitsukurii, Diplosoma pizoni, Diplosoma punctatum, Diplosoma rayneri, Leptoclinum atropunctatum, Leptoclinum gelatinosum, Leptoclinum lacteum, Leptoclinum listerianum, Leptoclinum macdonaldi, Leptoclinum macrolobium, Leptoclinum mitsukurii, Leptoclinum okai, Leptoclinum punctatum, Leptoclinum rayneri, Leptoclinum takeharai, Lissoclinum cupuliferum, Pseudodidemnum cristallinum

Similar species

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
3,341 open-data records from 1884 to 2024.
Species data updated October 26, 2026.

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