About Cristatella mucedo Cuvier, 1798
Cristatella mucedo Cuvier, 1798 is a bryozoan belonging to the family Cristatellidae, and it is the only species in the genus Cristatella. This species is recognized for its elongated shape and colorless, transparent bodies. Cristatella mucedo is distributed in north-eastern North America (covering Canada and the United States) and Northern Europe, including the United Kingdom, Lithuania, Norway, Finland, and the Netherlands. It occurs at elevations from sea level up to 1,116 metres (3,661 ft) above sea level. This species prefers cold climate waters. It forms statoblastic colonies that range between 5 and 10 centimeters in size. It can inhabit either lotic or lentic environments, including man-made water bodies such as gravel pits. European populations of this species are genetically relatively homogeneous; this pattern may reflect postglacial colonization by a single lineage. In contrast, North American populations of Cristatella mucedo have very high genetic diversity. There is some evidence that North American populations contain two distinct major lineages, which may represent cryptic species or subspecies, and hybridization between these lineages has increased the overall genetic diversity. A small number of colonies have been observed engaging in sexual reproduction during brief instances.
