Ascidiacea. In: Checklist della flora e della fauna dei mari italiani (parte II).

The critical review of the first edition of the Italian Ascidians checklist (Tursi, 1995) updates the previous list with 19 new species. The new checklist contains 12 families, 40 genera and 129 species of ascidians (66 Aplousobranchiata, 27 Phlebobranchia and 36 Stolidobranchiata). Six of the 19 new species are alien species (AL) Distaplia bermudensis, Aplidium pallidum, Perophora multiclathrata, Ecteinascidia styeloides, Botrylloides violaceus and Microcosmus squamiger only recently found in the Mediterranean Sea. The Pycnoclavellidae Family has also been included with Pycnoclavella taureanensis and the genera Synoicum with S. diaphanum and Tibitin with T. probatus. The taxonomic review of the genera Distaplia, Aplidium, Ciona, Rhodosoma, Microcosmus and Pyura and the new descriptions of some species have completed the updating of the list with the following species: D. lubrica, D. lucillae, D. rosea, A. albicans, A. ocellatum, A. tabarquensis, C. edwardsi, R. callense, M. claudicans and P. tessellata. Three species previously reported in Tursi (1995) have been eliminated: Cystodytes durus considered as being in synonymy with C. dellechiaiae, Microcosmus exasperatus and Rhodosoma turcicum that recent taxonomic reviews (Monniot & Zibrowius, 1999; Monniot et al., 2001) consider to be M. squamiger and R. callense. The nomenclature of the species have been updated using the ERMS (European Register of Marine Species, 1999) Tunicate list by Philippe Bouchet (Laboratoire de Biologie des Invertébrés Marins & Malacology, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris) under the supervision of Claude and Françoise Monniot and according to the recent taxonomic reviews of the genera.