Aspiraculata is an order of sea squirts in the class Sorberacea

Sorberacea

Sorberacea are benthic animals and a subgroup of the Tunicata. They superficially resemble sea squirts but prey on invertebrates such as crustaceans...

. It is the only order in the class, and includes only one family, the Hexacrobylidae

Hexacrobylidae

Hexacrobylidae are a family of benthic predatory tunicates. The taxon has two genera with a total of six species. Hexacrobylidae are in the order Pleurogona and in the class Ascidiacea.-Taxonomy:*Asajirus**Asajirus arcticus...

.

Unlike other sea squirts, which belong to the class Ascidiacea

Ascidiacea

Ascidiacea is a class in the Tunicata subphylum of sac-like marine invertebrate filter feeders. Ascidians are characterized by a tough outer "tunic" made of the polysaccharide tunicin, as compared to other tunicates which are less rigid.Ascidians are found all over the world, usually in shallow...

, the members of this group are not filter-feeders, and instead capture and eat nematode

Nematode

The nematodes or roundworms are the most diverse phylum of pseudocoelomates, and one of the most diverse of all animals. Nematode species are very difficult to distinguish; over 28,000 have been described, of which over 16,000 are parasitic. It has been estimated that the total number of nematode...

s and small crustacean

Crustacean

Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...

s. They are solitary animals, found only in the deep sea.

Taxonomy

Order Aspiraculata

• Family Hexacrobylidae
  • Genus Gasterascidia
    • Gasterascidia lyra
    • Gasterascidia sandersi
  • Genus Hexadactylus
    • Hexadactylus arcticus
    • Hexadactylus eunuchus
    • Hexadactylus ledanoisi
  • Genus Oligotrema
    • Oligotrema lyra
    • Oligotrema psammites
  • Genus Sorbera
    • Sorbera unigonas
    • Sorbera digonas