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bryo·zo·an | \ ˌbrī-ə-ˈzō-ən 
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\Definition of bryozoan
: any of a phylum (Bryozoa) of aquatic mostly marine invertebrate animals that reproduce by budding and usually form permanently attached branched or mossy colonies
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Examples of bryozoan in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web Then there are the bryozoans, a phylum of animals all its own.
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Joanna Klein, New York Times, "Creatures in This Underwater Forest Could Save Your Life One Day," 31 Mar. 2020 The most common critters were bryozoans—tiny invertebrates.
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Mark Fischetti, Scientific American, "Don’t Believe the Hype: The Pumice Raft Won’t Save the Great Barrier Reef," 30 Aug. 2019 Hunter speculates that crinoid rafts could have ferried additional stowaways including plants, bryozoans and crustaceans.
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Raleigh Mcelvery, Smithsonian, "Ancient Sea Life May Have Hitched Across Oceans on Giant Living Rafts," 12 Aug. 2019 Other species found on shorelines included clams, ballan wrasse and ling, bryozoans and a harbour porpoise.
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Sean Rossman, USA TODAY, "Thousands of starfish wash ashore in England after winter weather," 6 Mar. 2018 The warm coastal waters surrounding Gondwana were perfect for new kinds of animals, like brachiopods, crinoids, ostracodes, cephalopods, corals, and bryozoans.
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Annalee Newitz, Ars Technica, "If you liked the Cambrian Explosion, you’ll love the Ordovician Radiation," 21 Nov. 2017 According to Peter Dockrill of Science Alert, the blob is a type of bryozoan, which begin life as a single invertebrate organism.
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Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, "Brain-like Blob Found in Canadian Pond," 7 Sep. 2017 Ian Walker is a biology professor at the University of British Columbia who has studied bryozoans.
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Sarah Gibbens, National Geographic, "Mysterious, Brain-Like Blob Found in Lagoon," 31 Aug. 2017 After the first bryozoan sighting in Stanley Park, others were spotted in the pond.
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Brigit Katz, Smithsonian, "Brain-like Blob Found in Canadian Pond," 7 Sep. 2017
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bryozoan.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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The first known use of bryozoan was in 1851
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