Electra pilosa

Erling Svensen Oh, I did publish two pictures in another group that should have been here. Anyone knows this one? 15 meter, Stavanger, Norway yeasterday.

Marco Faasse Looks like Electra pilosa.

Erling Svensen Yes, of course. Thanks.

Joanne Porter Yes, I've seen it growing like this in the Menai Strait also!

Steven Melvin Does anyone know what algae species this may be that this Limacia clavigera and the sea mat are on?

João Pedro Silva Not sure which bryozoan it's on but I think it feeds on several species.

David Kipling Usually Electra pilosa (circular cells) but I've also seen it on Membranacea membranipora (rectangular cells) in the UK. No idea as to the weed though!

João Pedro Silva Shot it once feeding on M. membranacea (also lots of P. quadrilineata feeding on the same bryozoan at that time) but most of the times I've found it there was no M. membranacea nearby. http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpsilva1971/8443868129/

João Pedro Silva This one appears to be feeding on another bryozoan (no idea which though): http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpsilva1971/6432585343/

David Kipling They do seem to be quite mobile - I've got a lot of pics of them wandering over things that are clearly not bryozoan (eg naked rock!).

Erling Svensen I think the algae are Desmarestia aculeata. Very common here in Norway.

Steven Melvin Yes I think the bryozoa is either E.pilosa or M. membranupora, I am just uncertain about this particular weed that it's on as its been a popular habitat for L.clavigera. I am currently doing my thesis on limacia clavigera distribution in loch fyne and I've also found them quite abundant on what I believe to be Polysiphonia spp but I've seen no evidence for sea mat growing on that particular algae.

David Kipling Looks like you're going to have to take a sample that is part covered with sea mat and key it out - hard to tell the ID with it smothered ;)

David McGrath Any ideas on this bryzoan from Argyll, Membranipora membranacea has been suggested but that looks too rectangular

Jane Pottas Looks like Frosty Sea Mat, Electra pilosa

Joanne Porter Definitely Electra pilosa

Owen Loney Electra Pilosa...cant miss it !

Michelle Simpson Me & Spencer Cook are after help with identifying this sea squirt, Paula Lightfoot thinks it might be Dendrodoa grossularia with a bryozoan growing on it, but any ideas (particularly from David Kipling ;) ) would be greatly appreciated!

Nicola Faulks As soon as I saw it I wondered if it was a faded gooseberry sea squirt complete with little compartmentalised friends! Not seen one on a stipe before tho. Is is a current or surge bashed site? :-)

David Kipling The bryozoan looks like Electra pilosa (more circular cells). I wouldn't argue with Dendrodoa, given the homogenous colour. Your other option would be Stolonica socialis but that's more of a teapot as opposed to coffee pot shape (ie taller) and not really the right habitat - whereas Dendrodoa will come happily into the intertidal. How deep was this Michelle?

Michelle Simpson It was approximately 6m depth in a sheltered bay but there would have been current from the tides I assume, but not really surge.

David Kipling I think Paula's right. The one you would usually see on kelp stipes is Distoma variolous, which is a compound squirt with the animals fused together via their basal tests. It sort-of looks like a pomegranate. This isn't that but does show kelp can be fertile ascidian territory provided they can grow fast enough! I think they like to be raised up slightly so they don't choke to death if covered by sediment ... we get a lot of Didemnids wrapped around holdfasts in Pembs for example.

Michelle Simpson Many thanks for your help David, Paula & Nic I'm glad I spotted it :)

David Kipling Dendrodoa factoid: Unusually for a unitary squirt these are brooders ... the eggs get fertilised inside the animal (with sperm from another animal) and a swimming fully-fledged tadpole larva is released. This swims briefly, finds a nice location and settles down. That's why Dendrodoa is often found as dense aggregations (the apple doesn't fall far from the tree). In contrast, unitaries such as Ciona release eggs and sperm into the water column to take pot luck and be fertilised there ... a very different life history when it comes to how much you invest in the egg/larva. Why is this interesting? Because brooding is a common feature of invasive ascidians (eg Corella eumyota) ....

David Kipling I'll shut up now ;)

David Kipling Sorry dear :)

Spencer Cook Well that went a little over my head, but interesting to read.

Michelle Simpson I'm glad you said that hunni, I was thinking the same thing ;)