Escharoides tridens (Calvet, 1909)
provided by British Antarctic Survey
Description
Pink to orange in colour but may be translucent when young. This species is striking in colour but also has three distinctive, forward pointing, prongs (hence its name). Round the margins of each zooid are dimples. The only other Antarctic species (apart from at South Georgia), E. praestita, is not very similar.
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Species distribution
5m to deep water, common in shallows, particularly on the undersurfaces of boulders. The species occurs throughout west Antarctica, but is unknown from East Antarctica except round the Ross Sea
The species is common in the shallows, particularly in recently disturbed areas. It is a mid-ranked space competitor and rarely occurs as an epibiont on other animal shells. It is a suspension feeder, eating phytoplankton during spring and summer months. It is probably grazed by limpets and echinoids.
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