| Amathia vidovici | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Clade: | Lophophorata |
| Phylum: | Bryozoa |
| Class: | Gymnolaemata |
| Order: | Ctenostomata |
| Family: | Vesiculariidae |
| Genus: | Amathia |
| Species: | A. vidovici |
| Binomial name | |
| Amathia vidovici (Heller, 1867) [1] | |
Amathia vidovici is a species of colonial bryozoans with a tree-like structure. It is found in shallow waters over a wide geographical range, being found in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and adjoining seas.
Colonies of Amathia vidovici are like miniature trees and consist of a branching mass of individual zooids connected to each other by stolons. The zooids are in groups of four to eight pairs spiralling round the stolon. The colony is stiffened by an exoskeleton made of chitin which is secreted by the epidermis of the zooids. The stolon has a jointed appearance and consists of a series of specialised tubular zooids. The stolons are 0.13 to 0.20 mm (0.005 to 0.008 in) in diameter and the zooids are 0.4 mm (0.02 in) long. Zooids within the colony are connected via pores in the interconnecting walls and coelomic fluid can be transferred between them and through the stolon. [2] [3]
Amathia vidovici has a cosmopolitan distribution and is found in shallow waters in both the eastern and western Atlantic Ocean, [1] the Mediterranean Sea, the Caribbean Sea, the Pacific and Indian Oceans. [2]
Amathia vidovici feeds on bacteria, diatoms and phytoplankton by sifting particles from the surrounding water with its lophophore. [3]
Amathia vidovici is a hermaphrodite and different zooids on the same colony may be male or female, depending on their stage of development. The embryology of Amathia vidovici has not been studied [2] but most bryozoans produce large, yolky eggs which are retained in the body cavity. Sperm is shed into the water and some self-fertilisation probably takes place within the colony. The larvae are brooded initially and later released into the sea when they are well enough developed. They soon settle on the seabed, turn themselves inside out and cement themselves in place before undergoing metamorphosis. Each colony is entirely formed by the asexual reproduction of this founding zooid and subsequent clonal budding. Different zooids in the colony have different specialised functions. [3]
Amathia vidovici is typically found growing on rocks, seagrass, seaweed, mangrove roots, oysters, mussels, man-made structures and debris. [2] It is sometimes associated with the honeysuckle tunicate (Perophora viridis), the stolons of which intertwine with the branches of the bryozoan. [4] The colonies provide shelter for juvenile fish and for the copepods, amphipods, polychaete worms and other small invertebrates on which they feed. [2]
Bryozoa are a phylum of aquatic invertebrate animals, nearly all forming sedentary colonies. Typically about 0.5 millimetres long, they are filter feeders that sieve food particles out of the water using a retractable lophophore, a "crown" of tentacles lined with cilia. Most marine species live in tropical waters, but a few occur in oceanic trenches, and others are found in polar waters. One class lives only in freshwater environments, and a few members of a mostly marine class prefer brackish water. 5869 living species are known. One genus is solitary and the rest are colonial.
Entoprocta, whose name means "rectum/anus inside", or Kamptozoa, is a phylum of mostly sessile aquatic animals, ranging from 0.1 to 7 millimetres long. Mature individuals are goblet-shaped, on relatively long stalks. They have a "crown" of solid tentacles whose cilia generate water currents that draw food particles towards the mouth, and both the mouth and anus lie inside the "crown". The superficially similar Bryozoa (Ectoprocta) have the anus outside a "crown" of hollow tentacles. Most families of entoprocts are colonial, and all but 2 of the 150 species are marine. A few solitary species can move slowly.
Membranipora membranacea is a very widely distributed species of marine bryozoan known from the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, usually in temperate zone environments. This bryozoan is a colonial organism characterized by a thin, mat-like encrustation, white to gray in color. It may be known colloquially as the sea-mat or lacy crust bryozoan and is often abundantly found encrusting seaweeds, particularly kelps.
Pyrosomes, genus Pyrosoma, are free-floating colonial tunicates that usually live in the upper layers of the open ocean in warm seas, although some may be found at greater depths. Pyrosomes are cylindrical or cone-shaped colonies up to 18 m (60 ft) long, made up of hundreds to thousands of individuals, known as zooids. Colonies range in size from less than one centimeter to several metres in length. They are commonly called "sea pickles".
A zooid or zoöid is a single animal that is part of a colonial animal. This lifestyle has been adopted by animals from separate unrelated taxa. Zooids are multicellular; their structure is similar to that of other solitary animals. The zooids can either be directly connected by tissue or share a common exoskeleton. The colonial organism as a whole is called a zoon, plural zoa.
Phylactolaemata is a class of the phylum Bryozoa whose members live only in freshwater environments. Like all bryozoans, they filter feed by means of an extensible "crown" of ciliated tentacles called a lophophore. They live in colonies, each of which consists of clones of the founding member. Unlike those of some marine bryozoans, phylactolaemate colonies consist of only one type of zooid, the feeding forms known as autozooids. These are supported by an unmineralized "exoskeleton" made of gelatinous material or protein, secreted by the zooids.
Perophora is a sea squirt genus in the family Perophoridae. Most species are found in shallow warm water but a few are found in higher latitudes. A colony consists of a number of zooids which bud off from a long slender stolon.
Perophora viridis, the honeysuckle tunicate, is a species of colonial sea squirt in the genus Perophora found in the tropical western Atlantic Ocean.
Zoobotryon verticillatum, commonly known as the spaghetti bryozoan, is a species of colonial bryozoans with a bush-like structure. It is found in shallow temperate and warm waters in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea and has spread worldwide as a fouling organism. It is regarded as an invasive species in some countries.
Perophora regina is a species of colonial sea squirt in the genus Perophora. It is native to the tropical western Atlantic Ocean where it is found growing on mangrove roots on the Belize Barrier Reef.
Perophora multiclathrata is a species of colonial sea squirt in the genus Perophora. It is native to the tropical Indo-Pacific and the western Atlantic Ocean.
Conopeum seurati is a species of colonial bryozoan in the order Cheilostomatida. It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. This species has been introduced to New Zealand and Florida.
Electra pilosa is a species of colonial bryozoan in the order Cheilostomatida. It is native to the northeastern and northwestern Atlantic Ocean and is also present in Australia and New Zealand.
Cryptosula pallasiana is a species of colonial bryozoan in the order Cheilostomatida. It is native to the Atlantic Ocean where it occurs in northwestern Europe and northern Africa, and the eastern seaboard of North America. It has been accidentally introduced to the western coast of North America and to other parts of the world.
Watersipora subtorquata, commonly known as the red-rust bryozoan, is a species of colonial bryozoan in the family Watersiporidae. It is unclear from where it originated but it is now present in many warm-water coastal regions throughout the world, and has become invasive on the west coast of North America and in Australia and New Zealand.
Aplidium elegans (sea-strawberry) is a species of colonial sea squirt, a tunicate that is a benthic invertebrate in the family Polyclinidae and class Ascidiacea. It is native to shallow waters in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. It is also found in between France and the United Kingdom.
Schuchertinia milleri, commonly known as the Miller hydractinia, hedgehog hydroid or snail fur, is a small colonial hydroid in the family Hydractiniidae, found in the eastern Pacific Ocean. It forms mat-like colonies on rocks, or sometimes on the mollusc shells occupied by hermit crabs.
Beania magellanica is a species of colonial bryozoan in the family Beaniidae. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring in shallow waters in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and in Antarctica.
Electra posidoniae is a species of bryozoan in the family Electridae. It is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea, and is commonly known as the Neptune-grass bryozoan because it is exclusively found growing on seagrasses, usually on Neptune grass, but occasionally on eelgrass.
Callopora lineata is a species of colonial bryozoan in the family Calloporidae. It is found on rocky shores in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.