Dendrobeania murrayana (Johnston, 1847)

Dendrobeania murrayana is a sub-erect bryozoan, composed of dichotomously branching linear fronds. It forms entangled, spreading bushy tufts, about 3 cm high. The straw coloured fronds are broad and ribbon-shaped, truncated at the tip. Autozooids are linear-oblong, typically 0.8-1.1 by 0.5 mm.

The species is able to colonise stones, shells, hydroids and other bryozoan species e.g. Flustra foliacea. It ranges from shallow subtidal waters (9 m) down to approximately 300 m. Colonies attach to the substrate via long stout wrinkled rootlets, extending from marginal autozooids in the lower parts of the colony.

Dendrobeania murrayana is a cold temperate species, found in the Arctic-Boreal zone. It occurs of the coast of Scotland in the northern Irish Sea, but not extending as far south as the Isle of Man. On the east coast, it has been recorded as far south as Scarborough in Yorkshire.