PHYLUM BRYOZOA

These colonial animals, known as “sea mats” or “moss animals,” form flexible tufts or thin incrustations over the surface of solid objects both in intertidal and deep waters. Below low tide, many species form rigid, erect, latticed or branched colonies. The individual minute animals have calcareous protective skeletons and possess a ring of ciliated tentacles for gathering microscopic food. There are over 3000 species, about 35 of which are nonmarine.