Neolagenipora collaris

Neolagenipora collaris is a small, inconspicuous encrusting bryozoan. Colonies form tiny rounded or irregular patches that rarely exceed 100 autozooids or few mm2. Autozooids are short oval and strongly convex. They range in size from 0.38-0.5 by 0.3 mm.

Neolagenipora collaris has been recorded from Shetland, the Antrim coast, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands, and is thought to be common off the western approaches to the English Channel. Outside of the UK, the species has been recorded on shell substrata recovered from Kwintebank, North Sea.

The species is able to colonise very small shell substrata and occurs most often on the inner surfaces of small bivalve shells. It occurs in association with other bryozoans that also form small colonies such as Callopora discreta and Phylactella labrosa.
The species has been recorded from between 10-25 m at Kwintebank, but the exact depth range of N. collaris is unknown and likely to be determined by the availability of suitable shell substrate. Potentially, therefore, it ranges from below the kelp zone to possibly the edge of the continental shelf, although the species has been recorded from between