The H. punctata photos have been made in a bowl on my workdesk, as it was not possible to do it on-site where i found them (too shallow and muddy).

The first image shows a H. punctata colony. Note the broad tube the zooids grow from and how transparent the tube is.

In a enlarged image it can be seen how a typical Hyalinella colony grows. This can be well observed in this case, as the substrate that is normally followed (Hyalinella always closely follows the substrate) is a small branch.

To compare a detail image side by side with a comparable image of P. repens, the species H. punctata can be easily confused with in the field. Left Hyalinella, right Plumatella.

In more detail it can be well seen that Hyalinella has a broad ring-shaped opening for the polyp. Two images are shown.

In microscope images can be seen in more detail how different H. punctata and P. repens are.

The next image shows a different detail. The middle zooide is retracted and shows a typical Hyalinella 'ring' or 'ripple' in the zooid wall. This is caused by a fold in the zooid wall.

Here can be seen in microscope images what this fold looks like in detail.

The next two images provide a view of statoblasts developing in the zooid cavity. Both undeveloped (right image) and developed statoblasts can be seen (left image).

I also found a colony growing on a broken branch that i found in a shallow muddy pool. The white 'dots' are small ciliates.

This colony co-habited with a sponge.

And with co-habitation i mean exactly that - they were intertwined.