Celleporella bougainvillei

provided by British Antarctic Survey

Description

White to translucent in colour. This encrusting species is, like C. antarctica, very thinly calcified and has smaller male than female zooids. Characteristically there are three humps along the length of each zooid pointing towards the aperture. Colonies vary in shape but are usually round.

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Species distribution

Distribution info

0m to deep water, patchily very common in shallows, particularly on boulders undersurfaces. C. bougainvillea occurs as shallow as the intertidal zone and is distributed from Patagonia through the Scotia Arc to the Antarctic Peninsula. It also occurs at Kerguelen Island. The only other Antarctic Celleporella species it might be mistaken for is C. dictyota, which has many smaller humps.

Ecology

This species is typically found on boulders and pebbles and sometimes on organisms as an epibiont. It is a poor competitor, overgrown by many other encrusters. Like other bryozoans it is a suspension feeder and eats phytoplankton. It is eaten by pycnogonans and probably incidentally grazed by limpets and echinoids.