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Kelp fur or zigzag wineglass hydroid
Sponge & Cnidarian
Kelp fur or zigzag wineglass hydroid
Obelia geniculata (Linnaeus, 1758)
WoRMS AphialID
117388
Sample IDs
HMSC174_02425 https://bench.boldsystems.org/index.php/MAS_DataRetrieval_OpenSpecimen?selectedrecordid=ATCCN086-24; HMSC174-03403 https://bench.boldsystems.org/index.php/MAS_DataRetrieval_OpenSpecimen?selectedrecordid=ATCCN089-24
Collected
Brier Island, Nova Scotia; St Andrews, The Wolves and New River Beach, NB.
Distinguishing Features
• Small (< 20 mm tall), white hydroid.
• Simple unbranched (or sparsely branched) stem which zigzags.
• Hydrothecae alternate and pedicels arise from distinct 'shoulders'.
• Hydrothecae stout, as wide as deep.
• Margin of hydrothecae smooth.
Habitat
On shore and in shallow subtidal. Grows on green and brown algae. Very common on kelp fronds.
Geographic Range
Cosmopolitan. Arctic, both sides of the north Atlantic, Pacific coast of Canada and USA.
Fun Fact
Often the most abundant epiphyte on kelp. Creates a hair like covering on kelp fronds, giving rise to one of its common names 'kelp fur'.
Barcode Distribution
Records from Canada, USA, and Europe (Norway and Netherlands).
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