Greg McFall/NOAA, USA
Info
Bryozoans are colonial animals that excrete skeletal structures of calcium carbonate (similar to corals, but they belong to a different phylum and are more complex, with organs).
Habitat-forming organisms, while not well documented, make an important contribution to habitat complexity.
This fact has been demonstrated many times by US scientists in Florida using fossil inclusions of Schizoporella floridana in limestones.
In contrast to corals, bryozoans have more complex organs and usually form smaller colonies.
Schizoporella floridana forms colonies with a height of 10-15cm and a width of 15-30cm
Colonies of Schizoporella floridana encrust and occur in a variety of shapes, from uni- or multi-leafed to leaf-shaped or tubular.
Their zooids are rectangular in shape and measure 0.49 x 0.36 mm on average.
A heavy umbel is present suborally. The opening can sometimes be at an angle to the zooid's midline.
The avicularia are rounded at the base, have pointed mandibles and may occur singly or in pairs just below the mouth.
The polypids are pink in color, the lophophore measures about 0.509 mm in diameter and has an average of 17 tentacles.
Habitat: Harbors, bays, mangroves, reefs of the temperate zone up to 50 m in tropical waters.
Many thanks to Greg McFall (NOAA) for his great photo of Schizoporella floridana!
Habitat-forming organisms, while not well documented, make an important contribution to habitat complexity.
This fact has been demonstrated many times by US scientists in Florida using fossil inclusions of Schizoporella floridana in limestones.
In contrast to corals, bryozoans have more complex organs and usually form smaller colonies.
Schizoporella floridana forms colonies with a height of 10-15cm and a width of 15-30cm
Colonies of Schizoporella floridana encrust and occur in a variety of shapes, from uni- or multi-leafed to leaf-shaped or tubular.
Their zooids are rectangular in shape and measure 0.49 x 0.36 mm on average.
A heavy umbel is present suborally. The opening can sometimes be at an angle to the zooid's midline.
The avicularia are rounded at the base, have pointed mandibles and may occur singly or in pairs just below the mouth.
The polypids are pink in color, the lophophore measures about 0.509 mm in diameter and has an average of 17 tentacles.
Habitat: Harbors, bays, mangroves, reefs of the temperate zone up to 50 m in tropical waters.
Many thanks to Greg McFall (NOAA) for his great photo of Schizoporella floridana!
