Ctenostomatida

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Ctenostomatida
Ropalonaria large 010213.jpg
Ropalonaria venosa, an etching of an Ordovician ctenostome bryozoan on a strophomenid brachiopod valve. [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Bryozoa
Class: Gymnolaemata
Order: Ctenostomatida
Busk, 1852
Suborders and Superfamilies [2]
Suborders
Superfamilies
Synonyms [2]
  • CarnosaGray, 1841
  • CtenostomataBusk, 1852

The Ctenostomatida are an order of bryozoans in the class Gymnolaemata. The great majority of ctenostome species are marine, although Paludicella inhabits fresh water. They are distinguished from their close relatives, the cheilostomes, by their lack of a calcified exoskeleton. Instead, the exoskeleton is chitinous, gelatinous, or composed only of a soft membrane, and always lacks an operculum. Colonies of ctenostomes are often composed of elongated, branch-like stolons, although more compact forms also exist.

References

  1. Pohowsky, R.A. (1978). "The boring ctenostomate bryozoa: taxonomy and paleobiology based on cavities in calcareous substrata". Bulletins of American Paleontology. 73: 192p.
  2. 1 2 WoRMS (2021). "Ctenostomatida". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 7 April 2021.

Barnes, Robert D. (1982). Invertebrate Zoology. Philadelphia, PA: Holt-Saunders International. p. 910. ISBN   0-03-056747-5.