A few weeks ago I was looking through the SEM images I have taken during our project (over 3000!). One of the first bryozoans I imaged was a Smittoidea, which I tentatively thought was Smittoidea reticulata. But it actually turns out to be a completely different species, namely Smittoidea exilis! This species was described by Hayward in 1994 from material collected near the Faroe Islands.
Smittoidea exilis is a new species for Norway, so that's pretty cool! Apart from the original material from the Faroe Islands, this species has not been recorded anywhere else. It may well be that several of the northern records of Smittoidea reticulata are actually Smittoidea exilis, but since Smittoidea exilis is not in the main literature that is usually used for identification, it may have been overlooked.
The main characters that separate Smittoidea exilis from Smittoidea reticulata are:
- Larger zooids and ovicells
- Smaller/shorter avicularia
- The structure of the condyles
- The pores on the ovicells in Smittoidea exilis seems to be a little bit smaller than the ones in Smittoidea reticulata.
Reference:
Hayward, P. J. (1994). New species and records of Cheilostomatous Bryozoa from the Faroe Islands, collected by BIOFAR. Sarsia. 79, 181-206.