Diazona formosa (Encrusting ascidian)
Diazona formosa is a beautiful, colony-forming ascidian. It is translucent with fine white lines and six white spots on both siphons.
Unassessed by the IUCN Red list.
Western Central Pacific. Known only from Indonesia, the Philippines and Micronesia. The prefer coral-rich reefs with a current, in a depth range of 20-60 meters.
Diazona formosa is hermaphroditic, being able to both self- en cross-fertilize. Eggs develop into lecithotrophic larva before settling to the bottom and transforming into their adult form.
Up to 2,5 cm.
They are filter feeders. By pumping water through their siphons, they can sift out food particles from the water.
Unfortunately many ascidians are poorly described and have contradicting names. Much more research is needed to get a better understanding of their taxonomic relations
