Biodiversity & Conservation

Ross - Pentapora fascialis - General information

Pentapora fascialis

Image Keith Hiscock - Small colony of Pentapora fascialis. Image width ca 20 cm.
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Distribution map

Pentapora fascialis recorded (dark blue bullet) and expected (light blue bullet) distribution in Britain and Ireland (see below)

Why do the maps differ?

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Pentapora fascialis is not listed under any importance categories.

General information

Key Icon Researched by: Angus Jackson Text page icon Refereed by: Dr Peter J. Hayward

Taxonomy icon Taxonomy

Phylum Bryozoa Sea mats, horn wrack & lace corals
Class Gymnolaemata
Map icon Recorded distribution in Britain and Ireland Common along the South coast of England as far east as Beachy Head. Also the south west, the western extremities of Wales and the Isle of Man. In Ireland present along the south west and north coasts. Scarce records from the Hebrides and St Kilda.
Habitat information icon Habitat information Pentapora fascialis colonies grow on bedrock or large boulders in current swept areas, often surrounded by gravel and scoured by coarse sand. They may colonize coarse gravel and pebbles but do not grow to large colonies.
Text page icon Description A large, erect bryozoan deep orange in colour. The colony is attached to the substratum by an encrusting base and forms a mass of repeatedly dividing sheets in an open honeycomb structure. The edges of the sheets are wavy and convoluted. Pentapora fascialis has a growth rate of approximately 2 cm per year and lives for up to ten years. Colonies can reach up to 40 cm in diameter (more typically up to 20 cm across) and 10 cm in height. When dead, the deep orange colour fades to a pale buff.

This review can be cited as follows:

Angus Jackson 2007. Pentapora fascialis. Ross. Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Sub-programme [on-line]. Plymouth: Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. [cited 26/05/2013]. Available from: <http://www.marlin.ac.uk/speciesfullreview.php?speciesID=4071>