Asajirella gelatinosa in Panama: A bryozoan range extension in the Western Hemisphere (Ectoprocta: Phylactolaemata)

Abstract

Asajirella gelatinosa, a freshwater bryozoan known previously only from eastern Asia is now reported in the Republic of Panama. Colonies were collected during April 1992 in the broad reaches of the lower Rio Chagres as it enters Gatun Lake, part of the Panama Canal system. A subsequent collection in 1998 included large colonies and numerous statoblasts from a region upstream of this site in the impounded Lago Alajuela (Madden Lake). Colonies and statoblasts resemble those from Japan in almost every detail. Human transport of statoblasts is a likely cause of this disjunct distribution.