bryozoan

bryozoan Definition

bryo·zoan (brī′ō zō′ən, brī′ə-)

noun

any of a phylum (Bryozoa) of minute water animals that form branching, mosslike colonies and reproduce by budding

Etymology: < ModL < Gr bryon, moss + -zo(a) + -an

bryozoan Usage Examples

Converse of object

sponge: Most modern reefs are built by corals and algae, but sponges, bryozoans and bivalves have all formed reefs in the geological past.

Adjective modifier

marine: Earthworms, leeches, lugworms and marine worms Bryozoans Bryozoans look like plants but actually consist of thousands of tiny animals.

Modifies a noun

colony: They were found to be the first free-swimming bryozoan colonies ever recorded.
turf: In tide-swept areas communities of hydroid and bryozoan turfs or beds of brittlestars may be dominant.

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