Several colonies of the phlebobranch ascidian Perophora japonica were found during 1999 at a marina in Plymouth Sound, Devon, UK. The species was still present in the spring of 2000. This appears to be the first record from British coasts of the species, which is native to Japan and Korea but is previously known from northern France. The stolons of P. japonica bear distinctive, star-shaped terminal buds, which are bright yellow in the Plymouth population. Comparison is made with Atlantic representatives of the genus, particularly the native British species P. listeri.