Bryozoa
Nolella stipata
Size
Zooecia length: to 3mm. Zoociea width: to 0.22mm.
Recognition Characters
Zooecia are elongate, cylindrical posts arising individually from a single stolon. The chitinous exoskeleton often becomes covered with a layer of silt or mud, thus zooids resemble mud tubes constructed by amphipods or polychaete worms. The lophophore bears 17 tentacles.
Color
Attached sediments and diatoms gives a grayish-brown or muddy color to them.
Habitat & Depth
Colonies adherent to soft substrates such as algae or hydroids.
Distribution at GRNMS
Geographic Range
Wide distribution in western Atlantic. From Canada south to the Caribbean and Brazil.
Behavior & Notes
Nolella stipata may easily be identified as a tube-dwelling polychaete worm, or the mud tube of an amphipod. However, upon close examination, the stolon is revealed and the lophophore can be observed.
Synonyms
Nolella gigantea, Marcus 1937
Maturo 1957