Phylactolaemata

The Phylactolaemata are a class of bryozoans, also known as moss animals. These are aquatic invertebrates that form colonies of connected units called zooids. The Phylactolaemata are exclusively freshwater dwellers and are characterized by a horseshoe-shaped lophophore, a ring of ciliated tentacles used for collecting food. They also possess an epistome, a flap that covers the mouth. Unlike some other bryozoan classes, their body walls are non-calcareous and muscular. Phylactolaemata reproduce both sexually and asexually, with freshwater species producing dormant buds called statoblasts, which aid in survival and propagation. These colonies are typically found on submerged vegetation in shallow, slow-moving waters.12345