DETAILS
- Discipline
NH: ZOOLOGY: INVERTEBRATES: BRYOZOANS (MOSS ANIMALS, SEA MATS)
- Scientific Name
Membranipora membranacea
- Common Name
Sea Mat
- Place Collected
Scotland, Cumbrae, Marine Station (place collected)
- Form
wet preserved
- Dimensions
overall: 283 mm x 75 mm x 75 mm 877 g
- Description
-
This sea mat or bryozoan, Membranipora membranacea, comes from the Firth of Clyde and was collected by scientists at the Millport Marine Station on Cumbrae. This specimen is important as it is a good example of 19th century collecting and presentation. It has been beautifully preserved and mounted on a blue glass background and even though it is over a hundred years old it looks like it was collected yesterday.
Bryozoans (from the Greek for ‘moss animal’) are colonial animals which are often mistaken for plants, when dried they can look like moss or lichens hence the name. They feed on plankton which is gathered from the water using a special organ called a lophophore – a crown of tentacles covered in fine hairs. They are in turn preyed upon by fish and some marine invertebrates. Although they can form structures themselves they are often found encrusted on seaweeds such as kelp.
This species is found in the temperate areas of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. In some parts of the world it has become an invasive species and may be causing problems by inhibiting the ability of seaweeds to reproduce. - ID Number
1899.180.o
- Location
In storage
- Terms