Hello Dr Marmouzi,

at first glance it looks like an ascidian tunicate with some hydroids attached ...

Best wishes,

Mike Reich

Thank you very much Dr Reich

Actually i am working on isolation of secondary metabolites from marine organisms

I need to identify this sample to start isolation. 

It will be really helpful if i have the taxonomic identification

Thank you again for your feedback

Best regards

This looks like ascidian and you can have good works

All the Best

Dr.Sethi

Dear Dr Marmouzi,

It does look like a tunicate to me as well. Some sponges look rubbery as well, but this specimen is a tunicate.

good luck,

Nicole

Yes, this is a compound tunicate. You may not be able to get an identification to the species level without consulting an expert who specializes in this group, and even then the expert may need a sample to examine under the microscope.

I agree this is a colonial tunicate. Besides to anatomical details, to be able to properly determine the species, collection metadata is needed, that is: location, depth, date, etc.

Thank you very much for your answers and feedback

here is the informations related to the collection of the sample:

Collections sites : Mediteranen sea, Mdiq, near to Tetouan, Morocco

Date : March 2014

Depth : 24 to 36 meters

Temperature: 16-17°C

GPS coordinates : 35° 40,4237 N 5° 15,9198W // 35° 40,2916 N 5°15,4795W

Best regards

Hello Dr. Marmouzi,

Which kind of secondary metablites would you like to isolate ?

Regards

Dear Dr Es-Safi 

Thank you for asking, i am interested in new bioactive metabolites especially with interesting cytotoxicity. I would like to follow a bio-guided strategy to isolate active metabolites.

Generally marine organisms constitute a valuable source of Peptides and alkaloids.

However i do not have preference to a specific group. 

Best regards

Dear Dr.Marmouzi.

I think that picture is a sponge and you can see on left hand two oscule,one on top and another down.to right hand can see another oscule to down.Near of this last one you can see hydroids attached and these are Obelia genus.

Best regards.

Hello Dr Marmouzi,

I also think it is a compound ascidian.

Just to get an idea of what lives in the Mediterranean, follow this link, of the French website dedicated to underwaterlife DORIS - Données d'Observations pour la Reconnaissance et l'Identification de la faune et la flore Subaquatiques.

http://doris.ffessm.fr/find/species/%28name%29//%28groups%29/48928/%28zones%29

It may not help you indentify your specimen but will give you some clues.

It makes me think of a Didemnum or Diplosoma species, without any warranty of course.

I suggest you contact Frédéric ANDRE, from & via DORIS for more information.

If your species is not yet on DORIS, you are welcome to post a file about it.

I wish success with your study.

Alex Vanhaelen

Royal Belgian Institute for natural Sciences (RBINS, Malacology)

It seems to be tunicate

It looks like an ascidian.