Dr. Bernhard Picton, Großbritannien
Info
Margaretta cereoides is particularly common as an epibiont on the rhizomes of Posidonia seagrass, as well as on hard substrates and near cave entrances, and on various marine algae.
The diameter of this bryozoan reaches about thirty to forty centimeters.
Margaretta cereoides is even of great importance as a habitat shaper in the coral reefs of Marzamemi (southeastern Sicily, Mediterranean Sea).
This bryozoan alone hosts almost 75% and 92% of the species diversity of bryozoans and serpulids, respectively, and provides a suitable colonizable surface for most of the species found, some of which are absent on other substrates.
This means that the diversity of bryozoans and, even more so, serpulids on Margaretta cereoides is also higher than that of all other species studied in the Mediterranean.
Margaretta cereoides was previously mainly native to the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, but in September 2025, the presence of colonies around Ras Juddi (Pasni), Makran Coast, in the northern Arabian Ocean,
was described for the first time.
Synonyms:
Cellaria cereoides Ellis & Solander, 1786 · unaccepted (Basionym)
Tubucellaria cereoides (Ellis & Solander, 1786) · unaccepted (Alternative combination)
The diameter of this bryozoan reaches about thirty to forty centimeters.
Margaretta cereoides is even of great importance as a habitat shaper in the coral reefs of Marzamemi (southeastern Sicily, Mediterranean Sea).
This bryozoan alone hosts almost 75% and 92% of the species diversity of bryozoans and serpulids, respectively, and provides a suitable colonizable surface for most of the species found, some of which are absent on other substrates.
This means that the diversity of bryozoans and, even more so, serpulids on Margaretta cereoides is also higher than that of all other species studied in the Mediterranean.
Margaretta cereoides was previously mainly native to the Mediterranean and the Red Sea, but in September 2025, the presence of colonies around Ras Juddi (Pasni), Makran Coast, in the northern Arabian Ocean,
was described for the first time.
Synonyms:
Cellaria cereoides Ellis & Solander, 1786 · unaccepted (Basionym)
Tubucellaria cereoides (Ellis & Solander, 1786) · unaccepted (Alternative combination)
