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How do bryozoan larvae begin a new colony?
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moss animal
Eurystomella bilabiata, a moss animal from the Order Cheilostomata.
In the life cycle of bryozoans, sexual reproduction results in the production of fertilized eggs that develop into swimming larvae. To begin a new colony, a larva settles on a suitable substrate and undergoes metamorphosis to become the ancestrula.1
The ancestrula serves as the primary or first zooid of the colony. From this initial individual, the colony expands through an asexual process called budding, which generates secondary zooids that remain in intimate contact to form the integrated colonial structure.12