[brahy-uh-zoh-uh
n] 
| 1. | belonging or pertaining to the Bryozoa. |
| 2. | 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. |
| bry·o·zo·an (brī'ə-zō'ən) n. Any of various small aquatic animals of the phylum Bryozoa that reproduce by budding and form mosslike or branching colonies permanently attached to stones or seaweed. Also called moss animal, polyzoan. adj. Of or belonging to the Bryozoa. [From New Latin Bryozōa, phylum name : bryo- + Greek zōia, pl. of zōion, animal; see -zoon.] |
| moss animal n. See bryozoan. |
| bryozoan (brī'ə-zō'ən) Pronunciation Key
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. |