Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

Botrylloides giganteus (Pérès, 1949)

Tunicado, Tunicate

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Chordata

Class
Ascidiacea

Order
Stolidobranchia

Family
Styelidae

Genus
Botrylloides

Species
giganteus

Taxon category: Accepted

Syn.: Botrylloides giganteum (Pérès, 1949), Botryllus giganteum Aron & Sole Cava, 1991, Metrocarpa nigrum var. giganteum Pérès, 1949 (Ahyong, S., et al., 2023).

Origin: Introduced - established

Introduction

Year of first record: 2015

Mode of introduction: Accidental

Introduction Pathway: Stowaway

Subpathway: Ship hull

Introduced status: Naturalized

Invasive status: Under watch

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

References

  • Ahyong, S. Boyko, C.B., Bailly, N., Bernot, J., Bieler, R, ... Williams, D.M., Williams, G., Wilson, R., Witkowski, J., Wyatt, N., Wylezich, C., Xavier, J., Xu, K., Zanol, J., Zeidler, W., Zhao, Z., Zullini, A. (2023) World Register of Marine Species. Available from https://www.marinespecies.org at VLIZ.
  • Carlton, J. T. Keith, I., & Ruiz, G. M. (2019) Assessing marine bioinvasions in the Galápagos islands: Implications for conservation biology and marine protected areas. Aquatic Invasions, 14(1), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.3391/ai.2019.14.1.01
  • Lambert, G. (2019) Fouling ascidians (Chordata: Ascidiacea) of the Galápagos: Santa Cruz and Baltra Islands Aquatic Invasion, Volume 14, Issue 1: 132–149

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This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Botrylloides giganteus", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=18904. Accessed 4 November 2026.