Oikopleuridae

Oikopleuridae
Oikopleura dioica
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Tunicata
Class:	Appendicularia
Order:	Copelata
Family:	Oikopleuridae Lahille, 1887
Subfamilies, tribes and genera
Bathochordaeinae Lohmann, 1915 Bathochordaeus Chun, 1900 Mesochordaeus Fenaux & Youngbluth, 1990 Oikopleurinae Lohmann, 1896 Alabiata Fenaux, 1993 Althoffia Lohmann, 1892 Mesoikopleura Fenaux, 1993 Pelagopleura Lohmann, 1926 Sinisteroffia Tokioka, 1957 Labiata Fenaux, 1993 Chunopleura Lohmann, 1914 Folia Lohmann, 1892 Megalocercus Chun, 1887 Oikopleura Mertens, 1830 Stegosoma Chun, 1887

Oikopleuridae is a family of larvacean tunicates. A comparatively species-rich family, it has been especially well-researched thanks to the ubiquity of Oikopleura dioica as a model species. It comprises two subfamilies, Bathochordaeinae and Oikopleurinae, itself divided into the tribes Alabiata and Labiata.

It is believed to be sister to the clade formed by the two other families (Fritillariidae and Kowalevskiidae), united by common derived characteristics lacking in Oikopleuridae.

References

• Van der Land, J. (2001). Appendicularia, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50: pp. 356
• Fenaux, R., Q. Bone, and D. Deibel. 1998. Appendicularian distribution and zoogeography, p. 251-264. In q. Bone [ed.], The biology of pelagic tunicates. Oxford University Press.