| Crisularia plumosa | |
|---|---|
 | |
| In the Netherlands | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Bryozoa |
| Class: | Gymnolaemata |
| Order: | Cheilostomatida |
| Family: | Bugulidae |
| Genus: | Crisularia |
| Species: | C. plumosa |
| Binomial name | |
| Crisularia plumosa | |
| Synonyms [1] | |
| |
Crisularia plumosa is a species of bryozoan belonging to the family Bugulidae, commonly known as the feather bryozoan. [2] It is native to the Atlantic Ocean. [1]
Crisularia plumosa is a colonial bryozoan that forms small bushy clumps, up to 10 cm (4 in) high, which are attached to the substrate by a tangled ball of rhizoids. The founding zooid is circular and spineless. As it buds and develops into a colony, a robust central trunk is formed, and branches grow out dichotomously from this in a characteristic spiral fashion, each with fine feathery branchlets. The colony is whitish, or pale tan. The individual zooids are microscopic, about 0.5 by 0.2 mm (0.02 by 0.01 in) and form two calcified rows on each branchlet; some of the smallest zooids are avicularia, each able to use its mandible and hooked beak to catch prey, which is then passed to the somewhat larger neighbouring autozooids. [2]
Crisularia plumosa is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, its range extending from the North Sea and the coasts of the British Isles and Ireland, to the Iberian Peninsula and Madeira; it is found sparingly in the Mediterranean Sea. It grows on rocky coasts with limited water movement, and on piers and jetties, and tolerates high levels of sediment in the water. It occurs at depths down to about 50 m (160 ft). [2] Also recorded from the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. [3]
Crisularia plumosa is a filter feeder; the tentacles on the lophophore create a current that wafts diatoms, bacteria and other small organic particles within reach, and these are conveyed to the mouth. This species is a protandrous hermaphrodite and colonies have both male and female zooids; each individual zooid starts its existence as a male and later becomes a female. Sperm, liberated into the water column by male zooids, is drawn into female zooids where fertilisation takes place; the embryos are retained in a brood chamber. The larvae have a short planktonic phase before settling on the substrate and undergoing metamorphosis. [2] Other animals, such as small sea spiders, sometimes take shelter among the branchlets of the clumps. [2] Alongside Flustra foliacea , this species forms part of a dense bryozoan "turf" that is found on heavily silted but moderately wave-exposed rocks and boulders round certain coasts of Britain just below the littoral zone; the habitat is dominated by sponges Suberites ficus , Suberites carnosus and Hymeniacidon perlevis . [4]
Bryozoa are a phylum of simple, aquatic invertebrate animals, nearly all living in sedentary colonies. Typically about 0.5 millimetres long, they have a special feeding structure called a lophophore, a "crown" of tentacles used for filter feeding. Most marine bryozoans live in tropical waters, but a few are found in oceanic trenches and polar waters. The bryozoans are classified as the marine bryozoans (Stenolaemata), freshwater bryozoans (Phylactolaemata), and mostly-marine bryozoans (Gymnolaemata), a few members of which prefer brackish water. 5,869 living species are known. Originally all of the crown group Bryozoa were colonial, but as an adaptation to a mesopsammal life or to deep-sea habitats, secondarily solitary forms have since evolved. Solitary species has been described in four genera; Aethozooides, Aethozoon, Franzenella and Monobryozoon). The latter having a statocyst-like organ with a supposed excretory function.
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 coffin box, sea-mat or lacy crust bryozoan and is often abundantly found encrusting seaweeds, particularly kelps.
Bugula is a genus of common colonial arborescent bryozoa, often mistaken for seaweed. It commonly grows upright in bushy colonies of up to 15 cm in height.
Aplidium californicum is a species of colonial sea squirt, a tunicate in the family Polyclinidae. It is commonly known as sea pork.
Thecacera pennigera, common name the winged thecacera, is a species of sea slug, a nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Polyceridae.
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.
Apolemia uvaria, commonly known as string jellyfish, barbed wire jellyfish, and long stringy stingy thingy, is a siphonophore in the family Apolemiidae.
Amathia verticillata, 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.
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.
Bugula neritina is a cryptic species complex of sessile marine animal in the genus Bugula. It has a practically cosmopolitan distribution, being found in temperate and tropical waters around the world, and it has become an invasive species in numerous locations. It is often found in hard substrates, such as rocks, shells, pillars and ship hulls, where it can form dense mats, contributing to biofouling. B. neritina is of biomedical interest because it harbors a bacterial symbiont that produces a group of bioactive compounds with potential applications in the treatment of numerous diseases.
Distomus variolosus is a species of tunicate or sea squirt in the family Styelidae. It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean where it lives on the seabed, typically on the stems and fronds of kelp.
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.
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.
Bicellariella ciliata is a species of bryozoan belonging to the family Bugulidae. It is found in shallow water on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea and the Indo-Pacific region.
Bugulina turbinata is a species of bryozoan belonging to the family Bugulidae. It is found in shallow water in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
Bugulina flabellata is a species of bryozoan belonging to the family Bugulidae. It is found in shallow water in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
Walkeria tuberosa is a species of colonial bryozoan in the order Ctenostomatida. It is native to the Mediterranean Sea, and has spread to the Red Sea and the Indo-Pacific region.
Walkeria uva is a species of colonial bryozoan in the order Ctenostomatida. It occurs on either side of the Atlantic Ocean, in the Baltic Sea, in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Indo-Pacific region.
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