Victorella pavida


Victorella pavida or trembling sea mat is a species of bryozoans found in shallow waters of low or fluctuating salinity, such as lagoons and estuaries. In summer it can have the appearance of velvet. The zooids may be from 0.3 mm to 1 mm in length. They live in colonies underwater attaching to stones. They feed using tiny hairs attached to their crown of tentacles to catch tiny particles flowing through the water, also known as "filter feeding".

Distribution

It is common in the Mediterranean Sea, and has also been reported in the North Sea, the Baltic, the Black Sea, India, Japan, Brazil, and the eastern United States. Swanpool, a coastal saline lagoon, in Falmouth, is the only location in the British Isles at which Victorella pavida is found; it is protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.