Freshwater bryozoans of New Zealand: A preliminary survey

Five bryozoan species were encountered in a 15‐day survey of freshwater habitats in New Zealand. Listed in order of decreasing frequency these were: Fredericella sultana, Plumatella repens, P. emarginata, Paludicella articulata, and one plumatellid species not previously described. Micro‐structural features of the floatoblast annulus separate the P. repens specimens into two distinct varieties, named here P. repens typica and P. repens rugosa. Paludicella, reported almost 100 years ago from the City of Dunedin waterworks, was still found only in a single reservoir of that city. Species distribution did not correlate significantly with water temperature, current velocity, pH, or total dissolved solids. Two additional species believed to occur in New Zealand, Fredericella australiensis and Plumatella fungosa, were not seen in this brief survey. An identification key is provided for New Zealand bryozoans.     

First record of freshwater bryozoans (Bryozoa: Phylactolaemata) in the aquatic invertebrate fauna of Serbia

Species of freshwater bryozoans are newly recognized in the fauna of aquatic invertebrates in Serbia. This first record includes a total of five species of class Phylactolaemata found at eight localities during limnological investigations in the period from 2002 to 2006. Four species are assigned to family Plumatellidae (Plumatella casmiana, P. emarginata, P. geimermassardi and Hyalinella punctata). Family Cristatellidae is represented by one species (Cristatella mucedo). The freshwater bryozoans in the form of intact colonies and especially as dormant bodies were identified to the species level. The identification was done using scanning electron microscopy, analyzing resting bodies’ morphological ultrastructure.