sb. pl. Zool. Sing. bryozoon. [f. Gr. βρύον moss + ζῷα, pl. of ζῷον animal; from the appearance of some species.] The lowest class of mollusks, consisting of compound or ‘colonial’ animals formed by gemmation, each individual having a distinct alimentary canal. Also called Polyzoa. In the sing. an individual animal of this class.
1847–9. Todd, Cycl. Anat. & Phys., IV. 50/1. The differences between a Bryozoon and an ordinary polype.
1856. Gosse, Marine Zool., II. 1. It has been usual [hitherto] to include the Polyzoa (or Bryozoa, as they are sometimes termed) in the class Zoophyta.
1876. Beneden, Anim. Parasites, 61. Many bryozoa spread themselves over marine animals.
1883. C. F. Holder, in Harper’s Mag., Dec., 107/1. The rich bryozoon … incrusts the various parts with its silvery growth.
Hence Bryozoan a., belonging to the Bryozoa; also as sb., one of the Bryozoa.
1872. Dana, Corals, i. 19. The lowest tribe of Mollusks, called Bryozoans, which produce delicate corals, sometimes branching and moss-like.
1878. Bell, Gegenbauer’s Comp. Anat., 132. All the persons of a Bryozoan colony are not equally well developed.
