Description:
Colonies of Beania klugei are vine-like or semi-erect, and clear to whitish in color.  Individuals of the colony, called zooids, are boat-shaped and lightly calcified, measuring approximately 0.03 X 0.01 inches in size. New individuals are budded from existing individuals at their bases, and remain connected by narrow tubes.  Stalked, "bird's beak" avicularia lie on either side of the operculum.  The horseshoe-shaped lophophore surrounding the mouth measures approximately 0.03 mm in diameter and bears 26 tentacles. The frontal surface is covered with a flat membrane, while the basal surface is rounded.  

Habitats:
Typical habitat for bryozoans in the Indian River Lagoon include seagrasses, drift algae, oyster reef, dock, pilings, breakwaters, and man-made debris. B. klugei is common in the Indian River Lagoon and along the Florida coast. It occurs year-round, but is most abundant in the winter and spring months where it is found primarily on hydroid roots and algae.  When collected along the coast, it was found in association with hydrozoans at Ft. Pierce Breakwater.  At other coastal sites, it was often entangled in algae.  Beania klugei has also been collected from the drift algae Soliera tenera, a red algae common in Indian river Lagoon seagrass beds.  It is typically collected in areas where salinity is below 30‰.   

Similar Species: 
B. klugei has been confused with B. intermedia, a related species.  B. intermedia is reported to have smaller zooids, distal and lateral spines, larger avicularia, and lateral tubules at the mid-zooid level.

Range:
B. klugei is probably widely distributed in warm tropical and subtropical waters. In the western Atlantic, it is distributed from Cape Hatteras through Florida, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean.  B. klugei is common in the Indian River Lagoon and at coastal stations. It has most often been collected at Sebastian and Ft. Pierce Inlets, the grass flats around Sebastian Inlet, Capron Shoals, and at other sites.