bryozoan, polyzoan


bryozoan, polyzoan

or

sea mat

any aquatic invertebrate animal of the phylum Bryozoa. These are small animals superficially resembling hydroid COELENTERATES, because of their ciliated tentacles and horny or calcereous exoskeletons. There are two groupings, each sometimes referred to as a class though by many considered as separate phyla - the Ectoprocta and Endoprocta.