Bryozoa from the Straits of Johor, Singapore, with the description of a new species

A checklist of 33 bryozoan species (named and known-undescribed) is presented from the Straits of Johor. This is the first such inventory for the island country of Singapore and focuses on the estuarine waters between it and Malaysia. Although this level of diversity is greater than anticipated it still only represents a small proportion of the total bryozoan fauna from Singaporean waters (thought to be some 200 or so species). The majority (63%) of species found in this fauna produce encrusting, two-dimensional colony morphologies, but erect-flexible (24%), and erect-rigid (12%) colony morphologies are well represented. These proportions of colony morphologies are more akin to those found in the neighbouring South China Sea bryozoan fauna than those found in the local fouling bryozoan communities. The Johor Straits bryozoan fauna is noteworthy in containing the first species of Alcyonidium from the tropical Indo-Pacific. A. jauhar sp. nov., which is formally described herein, and Amphibiobeania epiphylla; an amphibious mangrove-leaf-encrusting bryozoan, is recorded for the first time outside of Australian waters.