| Victorella pavida | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Bryozoa |
| Class: | Gymnolaemata |
| Order: | Ctenostomatida |
| Family: | Victorellidae |
| Genus: | Victorella |
| Species: | V. pavida |
| Binomial name | |
| Victorella pavida Saville Kent, 1870 |
|
Victorella pavida or trembling sea mat is a bryozoan found in shallow waters of low or fluctuating salinity, such as lagoons and estuaries. In summer (the growing season) it can have the appearance of velvet. The zooids may be from 0.3 mm to 1 mm in length.[1]
Swanpool, near Falmouth is the only location in the British Isles at which Victorella pavida is found,[1] and it is a protected animal under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.[2] It is common in the Mediterranean Sea, and has also been reported in the North Sea (on the European Mainland), the Baltic, the Black Sea, India, Japan, Brazil, and the eastern United States.[3]
Wm. S. Kent Memoirs: On a New Polyzoon, "Victorella Pavida," from the Victoria Docks, Quarterly Journal of Microscopical Science, s2-10: 34-39. The paper in which Saville-Kent first described the species.