An association between komokiacean foraminifers (Protozoa) and paludicelline ctenostomes (Bryozoa) from the abyssal Northeast Atlantic

Summary

Large collections of komokiacean foraminifers have been obtained from epibenthic sledge samples taken at bathyal and abyssal depths in the north-east Atlantic. Eight of the 32 species so far recognized have been found to form an association with paludicelline bryozoans. Approximately 4% of the > 12000 komokiaceans studied were involved in the association. The bryozoan colonies intergrow as networks with the komokiacean tubules and only the elongated peristomes protrude from the tubule mass. The distribution of ctenostome peristomes in relation to the tubule mass, and the length of the zooidal tentacle sheaths, suggest that these komokiacean species live together with their bryozoan associates at, or near the sediment surface.