Common Name: Red-Rust Bryozoan
Scientific Name: Watersipora subtorquata
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family: Animalia Bryozoa Gymnolaemata Cheilostomata Watersiporidae
Diet: Filter feeds using oral tentacles that sway in the water to catch micro-organic particles
Habitat: Encrusts on floats, pilings in estuaries and harbors
Range: Found globally in warm seas . Invasive species in Morro Bay
Identification: Red/Orange/black coloration of plate/leaf like structures, large sized pores can be seen on surface of plates, no spines, Juveniles metamorphose
Reproduction: Hermaphrodite (has both female and male reproductive organs), males release sperm into water where it fertilizes other individuals
Fact: The individuals, called “Zooids” live as a colony; on the leafy plates each pore contains a zooid. Watersipora is not native to California and it covers spaces that could otherwise be used by native species. It is common in estuaries on docks and pier pilings