Operculum (bryozoa)

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In the bryozoan order Cheilostomatida, the operculum is a calcareous or chitinous lid-like structure that protects the opening through which the polypide protrudes.

Many species have modified the operculum in specialized zooids (avicularia) to form a range of mandibles (probably for defense) or hair-like setae (probably for cleaning, or in some unattached species, such as Selenaria , for locomotion [1] ).

The cyclostome family Eleidae also convergently evolved an opercular structure during the Early Cretaceous to Paleocene. [2]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cheilostomatida</span> Order of moss animals

Cheilostomatida, also called Cheilostomata, is an order of Bryozoa in the class Gymnolaemata.

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Operculum may refer to:

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The avicularium in cheilostome bryozoans is a modified, non-feeding zooid. The operculum, which normally closes the orifice when the zooids tentacles are retracted, has been modified to become a mandible. Strong muscles operate it. The polypide is greatly reduced, and the individual receives nourishment from neighboring zooids. The shape of the avicularian zooid can be identical to the feeding autozooid, but is usually elongated in the direction of the mandible.

<i>Ascotis selenaria</i> Species of moth

Ascotis selenaria, the giant looper, is a moth of the family Geometridae. The species was first described by Michael Denis and Ignaz Schiffermüller in 1775.

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The Ctenostomatida are an order of bryozoans in the class Gymnolaemata. The great majority of ctenostome species are marine, although Paludicella inhabits freshwater. 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.

Stomatoporina is a genus of stenolaematan bryozoans. The type species is Stomatoporina incurvata. Like almost all bryozoans, it is colonial.

<i>Conopeum seurati</i> Species of moss animal

Conopeum seurati is a species of colonial bryozoan in the order Cheilostomatida. It is native to the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. This species has been introduced to New Zealand and Florida.

<i>Watersipora subtorquata</i> Species of moss animal

Watersipora subtorquata, commonly known as the red-rust bryozoan, is a species of colonial bryozoan in the family Watersiporidae. It is unclear from where it originated but it is now present in many warm-water coastal regions throughout the world, and has become invasive on the west coast of North America and in Australia and New Zealand.

Callopora lineata is a species of colonial bryozoan in the family Calloporidae. It is found on rocky shores in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

Zigzagopora is an extinct genus of bryozoans thought to belong to the family Sagenellidae, containing one species, Zigzagopora wigleyensis. It is distinctive because of its "zig-zag" appearance. The "fortuitous" species name references the Wigley Quarry in Oklahoma where it was found.

Diploclema is an extinct genus of bryozoan belonging to the monotypic family Dipoclemidae, found from the Middle Ordovician to the Middle Silurian. It has pear-shaped autozooecia which grow in a biradial pattern, and its colonies have a dichotomously branching shape. Its laminated exterior wall possesses a prismatic structure, which is unique among the cyclostome bryozoans.

References

  1. Cook, P.L. & Chimonides, P.J. 1987. Recent and fossil Lunulitidae (Bryozoa, Cheilostomata), 7. Selenaria maculata (Busk) and allied species from Australasia. Journal of Natural Historia 21: 933-966
  2. Taylor, P.D. 1994. Systematics of the melicerititid cyclostome bryozoans; introduction and the genera Elea, Semielea and Repromultelea. Bulletin of the Natural history Museum, Geology Series 50:1-103