Larvacean

Appendicularia
Appendicularia sp., a genus of fritillariid larvacean
Houses of Bathochordaeus charon (top) and B. stygius (bottom), two species of giant larvacean
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Subphylum:	Tunicata
Class:	Appendicularia Fol, 1872[1]
Order:	Copelata Haeckel, 1866
Families and genera
Kowalevskiidae Lahille, 1888 Kowalevskia Fol, 1872 Fritillariidae Lohmann, 1915 Appendiculariinae Seeliger, 1895 Appendicularia Fol, 1874[2] Fritillariinae Seeliger, 1895 Tectillaria Lohmann & Buckman, 1926 Fritillaria Fol, 1872 Oikopleuridae Lohmann, 1896 Bathochordaeinae Lohmann, 1915 Bathochordaeus Chun, 1900 Mesochordaeus Fenaux & Youngbluth, 1990 Oikopleurinae Lohmann, 1896 Alabiata Fenaux, 1993[3] 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
Synonyms
Larvacea Herdman, 1882 Perennichordata Balfour, 1881

Larvaceans or appendicularians, class Appendicularia, are solitary, free-swimming tunicates found throughout the world's oceans. While larvaceans are filter feeders like most other tunicates, they keep their tadpole-like shape as adults, with the notochord running through the tail. They can be found in the pelagic zone, specifically in the photic zone, or sometimes deeper. They are transparent planktonic animals, usually ranging from 2 mm (0.079 in) to 8 mm (0.31 in) in body length including the tail, although giant larvaceans can reach up to 10 cm (3.9 in) in length.^[4]

Larvaceans are known for the large houses they build around their bodies to assist in filter-feeding. Secreted from mucus and cellulose, these structures often comprise several layers of filters and can reach up to ten times their body length. In some genera like Oikopleura, houses are built and discarded every few hours, with sinking houses playing a key role in the oceanic carbon cycle.