Ellisina antarctica Hastings, 1945
provided by British Antarctic Survey
Description
Yellow to orange in colour. This species is encrusting and has a membranous front to each zooid. The individuals can be seen clearly with the naked eye – they look shiny when they dry out. This is not an easy species to separate from a number of other encrusting bryozoans.
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Species distribution
5m to deep water, common in shallows, particularly on boulders (unusually on the upper surfaces rather than the under as other species) and on the ascidian Cnemidocarpa verrucosa. The species has a patchy distribution, being described from the Chatham Is (NZ), Chilean Patagonia and west Antarctica, including the Ross Sea.
The species is common in the shallows, particularly in highly disturbed areas and places with high water flow. It is a highly aggressive species and fights all other colonies it meets of the same species, unlike most other encrusting species. # It is a suspension feeder, eating phytoplankton. It is probably grazed by limpets and echinoids.
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