© 2001 Kluwer Academic Publishers. Printed in the Netherlands. 51 Plumatella mukaii, a new phylactolaemate bryozoan from Asia and South America

A new freshwater bryozoan species, Plumatella mukaii, is recognized from eastern Asia and western South Amer-ica. Colonies and statoblasts both bear a resemblance to P. emarginata, and have often been confused with that species, especially in Japanese studies. Floatoblasts and sessoblasts are enclosed within a tough, wrinkled, mem-brane which resists removal by mechanical means. Floatoblasts are generally smaller than those of P. emarginata, but display unusually high variability in their overall dimensions. The species has been reported from both lenti