Giant salp
Salpa maxima Forskål, 1775
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Salpa maxima Forskål, 1775
- Name authority
- Forskål, 1775
- Common name
- Giant salp
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Thaliacea
- Order
- Salpida
- Family
- Salpidae
- Genus
- Salpa
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Source habitat flags: Marine: yes · Freshwater: no · Terrestrial: no. These do not form a complete habitat description.
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumTunicata
- classThaliacea Van der Hoeven, 1850
- orderSalpida Forbes, 1853
- familySalpidae Lahille, 1888
- subfamilySalpinae Lahille, 1888
- genusSalpa Forskål, 1775
- speciesSalpa maxima Forskål, 1775
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Salpa. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Salpa younti van Soest, 1973 | SalpidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Salpa aspera Chamisso, 1819 | SalpidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| common salpSalpa fusiformis Cuvier, 1804 | SalpidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Salpa birostrata Blainville, 1827 Blainville, 1827 | synonym |
| Salpa africana Forskål, 1775 Forskål, 1775 | synonym |
| Salpa forskalii Lesson, 1830 Lesson, 1830 | synonym |
| Salpa dubia Chamisso, 1819 Chamisso, 1819 | synonym |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- Forskål P. (1775). Descriptiones Animalium, Avium, Amphibiorum, Piscium, Insectorum, Vermium; quae in Itinere Orientali Observavit Petrus Forskål. Post Mortem Auctoris editit Carsten Niebuhr. Adjuncta est materia Medica Kahirina. Mölleri, Hafniae, 19 + xxxiv + 164 pp. Post Mortem Auctoris Edidit Carsten Niebuhr. Hauniae., Moller, Copenhagen, xxxiv + 140 pp. https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.2154 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:79F99. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.