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Northern staghorn bryozoan, false coral • Heteropora pacifica

Northern staghorn bryozoan (Heteropora pacifica)
Heteropora pacifica is the yellowish lobed bryozoan at centre and top right. Also pictured here are Bugula californica (orangey-brown cone-shaped spirals) and Hippodiplosia insculpta (flattened, wavy-edged bryozoan at left and distantly at bottom right). Photo by Jenn Burt.

Identification
This upright bryozoan forms densely-branched colonies that are coral-like in appearance due to a high level of calcification. The northern staghorn bryozoan's stiff branches are round in cross-section, to 5 mm in diameter, and often connect at points (anastomose). The overall shape of a single colony is rounded and reminiscent of a cauliflower head; these colonies can grow to 10 cm tall and 45 cm across. This bryozoan's colouring is typically yellow or yellowish-green, though it may vary to grey or have a pinkish tinge especially along the branch ends. 

Habitat & Range
The northern staghorn bryozoan grows on rock in the very low intertidal and subtidal to 27 m deep. It is most commonly found in exposed locations, and in the right conditions colonies can nearly carpet the bottom. Its range extends from northern Alaska to southern California.

​Similar Species
This bryzoan is often mistaken for a coral.
​The delicate staghorn bryozoan (Heteropora alaskensis) has thinner, spindly branches and is less dense than the northern staghorn bryozoan.

iNaturalist
​https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/465163-Heteropora-pacifica

References
Adams, M. J. (2008). Heteropora pacifica (Northern Staghorn Bryozoan). Beach Watchers​. Washington State University. Accessed 13/10/2015.
Cowles, D. (2007). Heteropora pacifica Borg, 1933. Invertebrates of the Salish Sea. Rosario Beach Marine Laboratory. Accessed 13/10/2015.
​Lamb, A., and Hanby, B. (2005). Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest [electronic version]. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing.
McDaniel, N. Heteropora pacifica Borg, 1933. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Ed.) E-Fauna BC: Electronic Atlas of the Fauna of British Columbia. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. Accessed 13/10/2015.

Authors and editors of page
Kelly Fretwell (2015).
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