Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 12, 2026

Pyrosoma

Pyrosoma is a genus of pyrosomes, marine colonial tunicates in the class Thaliacea. It contains four pelagic species found in temperate waters worldwide. Pyrosomes are filter feeders that uniquely use a type of continuous jet propulsion, generated by individual zooids, to slowly move forward while grazing; the species P. atlanticum has the highest known food clearance rate among zooplankton grazers. Colonies can reach lengths of up to 20 m (66 ft). *Pyrosoma atlanticum* has special light organs that contain glowing bacteria, and these bacteria make the colony glow blue-green in the ocean.

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Jun 12, 2026
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Pyrosoma
Pyrosoma atlanticum
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Tunicata
Class: Thaliacea
Order: Pyrosomatida
Family: Pyrosomatidae
Subfamily: Pyrosomatinae
Genus: Pyrosoma
Péron, 1804 1
Synonyms1
  • Dipleurosoma Brooks, 1906

Pyrosoma is a genus of pyrosomes, marine colonial tunicates in the class Thaliacea.12 It contains four pelagic species found in temperate waters worldwide. Pyrosomes are filter feeders that uniquely use a type of continuous jet propulsion, generated by individual zooids, to slowly move forward while grazing; the species P. atlanticum has the highest known food clearance rate among zooplankton grazers. Colonies can reach lengths of up to 20 m (66 ft).3 *Pyrosoma atlanticum* has special light organs that contain glowing bacteria (*Photobacterium* sp.), and these bacteria make the colony glow blue-green in the ocean.4


Species

The genus contains four recognized species:1

References

References

  1. WoRMS. "Pyrosoma Péron, 1804". World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  2. Péron, F. (1804). "Mémoire sur le nouveau genre Pyrosoma". Annales du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle. 4 (12): 437–446.
  3. Henschke, Natasha; Pakhomov, Evgeny A.; Kwong, Lian E.; Everett, Jason D.; Laiolo, Leonardo; Coghlan, Amy R.; Suthers, Iain M. (May 2019). "Large vertical migrations of Pyrosoma atlanticum play an important role in active carbon transport". Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. 124 (5): 1056–1070. doi:10.1029/2018JG004918. hdl:10453/139295.
  4. Berger, A., Blackwelder, P., Frank, T., Sutton, T., Pruzinsky, N., Slayden, N., & Lopez, J. V. (2021). "Bioluminescent Symbionts of Pyrosoma atlanticum". *Frontiers in Marine Science, 8*, 606818. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.606818