Tunicate

Microcosmus exasperatus

Other invertebrates
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth1–18 m
Water temperature20–29 °C
Best monthsFebruary, August, and November
How commonOccasional

About this species

Microscosmus exasperatus is a species of tunicate in the family, Pyuridae, and was first described in 1878 by Camill Heller.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Microcosmus exasperatus”, 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: 3 records
February: 38 records
March: 2 records
April: 26 records
May: 35 records
June: 30 records
July: 7 records
August: 62 records
September: 4 records
October: 15 records
November: 45 records
December: 7 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 1–18 m · Deepest record: 102 m

0–10 m: 42 records
10–20 m: 14 records
20–30 m: 2 records
30–40 m: 1 records
40–50 m: 1 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 0 records
70–80 m: 1 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 20–29 °C

20–22 °C: 1 records
22–24 °C: 2 records
24–26 °C: 46 records
26–28 °C: 221 records
28–30 °C: 13 records

Names and classification

English: Tunicate

Names in 1 more languages

French: Microcosme rude

Other scientific names: Ascidia cavernosa, Ascidia variabilis, Microcosmus biconvolutus, Microcosmus distans, Microcosmus haemisphaerium, Microcosmus miniatus, Microcosmus variegatus, Pyura cavernosa, Pyura variabilis

Similar species

Blunt-spined Microcosmus
Microcosmus squamiger
Microcosmus australis
Microcosmus curvus
Bristly Tunicate
Halocynthia igaboja
Mauve-mouth Ascidian
Herdmania grandis
Red-throated ascidian
Herdmania momus

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).
325 open-data records from 1884 to 2024.
Species data updated November 4, 2026.

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