Sylvain Le Bris, Frankreich
Info
Pentapora fascialis is a fairly large, upright moss animal that is very conspicuous due to its bright orange color. Its colonies can reach a diameter of up to 100 cm (usually up to 20 cm) and a height of 10 cm. Colonies are connected to the substrate by an encrusted base and form a mass of repeatedly dividing leaves in an open honeycomb structure. The edges of the leaves are wavy and folded. Pentapora fascialis has a growth rate of about 2 cm per year and can live up to ten years.
Colonies of Pentapora fascialis grow on rocks or large boulders in areas with strong currents, often surrounded by gravel and washed by coarse sand. These bryozoans can colonize coarse gravel and pebbles, but do not grow into large colonies there.
Bryozoans are capable of providing appropriate morphological responses to environmental changes (McKinney and Jackson 1989), but these bryozoans have been discussed several times in the scientific press in the past due to a large die-off of the species in parts of the Mediterranean.The population of Pentapora fascialis was completely or partially destroyed around the island of Tino (Ligurian Sea, NW Mediterranean). A severe storm in December 1993 caused almost complete death of the colonies in shallow zones up to 11 meters deep, with seven of eight colonies being washed away.
Mortality was not size-selective and independent of density. Colonies in deeper water zones at a depth of around 22 meters were unaffected by the storm; partial mortality, i.e., necrosis and loss of parts of the colony, affected only the largest colonies, which were exposed to prolonged epibiotic growth and heavy sedimentation. Changes in morphological characteristics (large cross-sectional area and poor adhesion to the substrate) that occurred in the largest colonies increased their susceptibility to drifting. In recent years, necrosis has probably been caused by positive thermal anomalies (excessive warming of the seas).
Nudibranchs such as Cratena peregrina (Gmelin, 1791) and Flabellina affinis (Gmelin, 1791) are regularly found on Pentapora fascialis, where they lay their eggs.
Reproduction: New zooids develop as “buds” on the outer wall of the parent zooids. In calcified bryozoans of the order Cheilostomatida, calcification and separation of the buds from the parent zooids lead to the formation of new complete zooids, whose size then remains fixed.
Synonyms:
Eschara fascialis Pallas, 1766 · unaccepted (basionym)
Eschara taenialis (Ellis & Solander, 1786) · unaccepted (subjective synonym) Millepora foliacea Ellis & Solander, 1786 · unaccepted (synonym) .Synonyms:
Eschara fascialis Pallas, 1766 · unaccepted (basionym)
Eschara taenialis (Ellis & Solander, 1786) · unaccepted (Subjective synonym)
Millepora foliacea Ellis & Solander, 1786 · unaccepted (synonym)
We would like to thank Sylvain Le Bris for his great photo of Pentapora fascialis
Colonies of Pentapora fascialis grow on rocks or large boulders in areas with strong currents, often surrounded by gravel and washed by coarse sand. These bryozoans can colonize coarse gravel and pebbles, but do not grow into large colonies there.
Bryozoans are capable of providing appropriate morphological responses to environmental changes (McKinney and Jackson 1989), but these bryozoans have been discussed several times in the scientific press in the past due to a large die-off of the species in parts of the Mediterranean.The population of Pentapora fascialis was completely or partially destroyed around the island of Tino (Ligurian Sea, NW Mediterranean). A severe storm in December 1993 caused almost complete death of the colonies in shallow zones up to 11 meters deep, with seven of eight colonies being washed away.
Mortality was not size-selective and independent of density. Colonies in deeper water zones at a depth of around 22 meters were unaffected by the storm; partial mortality, i.e., necrosis and loss of parts of the colony, affected only the largest colonies, which were exposed to prolonged epibiotic growth and heavy sedimentation. Changes in morphological characteristics (large cross-sectional area and poor adhesion to the substrate) that occurred in the largest colonies increased their susceptibility to drifting. In recent years, necrosis has probably been caused by positive thermal anomalies (excessive warming of the seas).
Nudibranchs such as Cratena peregrina (Gmelin, 1791) and Flabellina affinis (Gmelin, 1791) are regularly found on Pentapora fascialis, where they lay their eggs.
Reproduction: New zooids develop as “buds” on the outer wall of the parent zooids. In calcified bryozoans of the order Cheilostomatida, calcification and separation of the buds from the parent zooids lead to the formation of new complete zooids, whose size then remains fixed.
Synonyms:
Eschara fascialis Pallas, 1766 · unaccepted (basionym)
Eschara taenialis (Ellis & Solander, 1786) · unaccepted (subjective synonym) Millepora foliacea Ellis & Solander, 1786 · unaccepted (synonym) .Synonyms:
Eschara fascialis Pallas, 1766 · unaccepted (basionym)
Eschara taenialis (Ellis & Solander, 1786) · unaccepted (Subjective synonym)
Millepora foliacea Ellis & Solander, 1786 · unaccepted (synonym)
We would like to thank Sylvain Le Bris for his great photo of Pentapora fascialis
