Amathia vidovici
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| Amathia vidovici | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Bryozoa |
| Class: | Gymnolaemata |
| Order: | Ctenostomatida |
| Family: | Vesiculariidae |
| Genus: | Amathia |
| Species: | A. vidovici |
| Binomial name | |
| Amathia vidovici (Heller, 1867)[1] | |
Amathia vidovici is a species of colonial bryozoans with a tree-like structure. It is found in shallow waters over a wide geographical range, being found in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and adjoining seas.
Colonies of Amathia vidovici are like miniature trees and consist of a branching mass of individual zooids connected to each other by stolons. The zooids are in groups of four to eight pairs spiralling round the stolon. The colony is stiffened by an exoskeleton made of chitin which is secreted by the epidermis of the zooids. The stolon has a jointed appearance and consists of a series of specialised tubular zooids. The stolons are 0.13 to 0.20 mm (0.005 to 0.008 in) in diameter and the zooids are 0.4 mm (0.02 in) long. Zooids within the colony are connected via pores in the interconnecting walls and coelomic fluid can be transferred between them and through the stolon.[2][3]
Distribution
Amathia vidovici has a cosmopolitan distribution and is found in shallow waters in both the eastern and western Atlantic Ocean,[1] the Mediterranean Sea, the Caribbean Sea, the Pacific and Indian Oceans.[2]