bryozoan

From Bryozoa +‎ -an.

• (US) IPA^(key): /ˌbɹɑɪəˈzəʊən/

bryozoan (plural bryozoans)

1. (zoology) A member of the phylum Bryozoa of aquatic, usually colonial invertebrates. [from 19th c.]
   • 1991, Martha Holmes, Sea Trek, BBC Books, page 79:

     The blanket of bryozoans also blocks out some of the light needed by the blade for photosynthesis.

   • 2022, Thomas Halliday, Otherlands, Penguin, published 2023, page 163:

     Every microscopic individual in a bryozoan colony is a clone of the original animal that settled on the lake floor, and is a hermaphrodite, both male and female.

• ectoproct (dated), polyzoan (obsolete), moss animal (uncommon)

bryozoan (not comparable)

1. (zoology) Pertaining to the Bryozoa. [from 19th c.]

• polyzoan, polyzoic (both obsolete)

• bryozoon