A colonial animal

Another photograph of a marine Bryozoan, possibly Flustra foliacea although I'm not sure. Bryozoans are tiny animals that belong to an ancient and primitive Phylum of animals known formally as the Bryozoa or commonly as Moss Animals. They live in the sub-tidal zone of the ocean where they form bushy colonies of hundreds of individuals forming stiff brown or light grey fronds attached firmly to stones and shells by by an encrusting basal portion of the colony. They make their living by filtering out plankton from the water column.

#afternoon #tuesday #march #bryozoa #zooids #flustra