bryozoan

American  

[brahy-uh-zoh-uhn] / ˌbraɪ əˈzoʊ ən /

adjective

1. belonging or pertaining to the Bryozoa.

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noun

1. Also called moss animal.  any sessile marine or freshwater animal of the phylum Bryozoa, forming branching, encrusting, or gelatinous mosslike colonies of many small polyps, each having a circular or horseshoe-shaped ridge bearing ciliated tentacles, occurring on algae or on shaded objects.

bryozoan British  

/ ˌbraɪəˈzəʊən /

noun

1. Popular name: sea mat.  any aquatic invertebrate animal of the phylum Bryozoa , forming colonies of polyps each having a ciliated feeding organ (lophophore)

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to the Bryozoa

bryozoan Scientific  

/ brī′ə-zō′ən /

1. Any of various small aquatic invertebrate animals of the phylum Bryozoa that are capable of forming vast mosslike or branching colonies attached to seaweed or hard surfaces. Bryozoans reproduce by budding and feed on minute particles of plankton that they capture with tentacles. They are probably related to the phoronids and are the only animal phylum that does not appear in the fossil record until the early Ordovician Period.

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Etymology

Origin of bryozoan

First recorded in 1870–75; Bryozo(a) + -an

Example Sentences

Interestingly, the bryozoan species serving as the sea slug's habitat may itself be previously unknown to science.

From Science Daily • May 27, 2026

The same bryozoan, with several other British species, is also found abundantly in the Permian of Germany.

From The Student's Elements of Geology by Lyell, Charles, Sir