Bryozoan

[stemturtle]

Bryozoan

If you are interested in weird animals, this photo is for you. I am not aware of a toy moss animal, phylum Ectoprocta. 
The photo is of a live colony lifted out of a lake in Minnesota along the shoreline.  The colony was attached to the stem of a shrub.
The gelatinous matrix is about the size of a grapefruit.  Most bryozoan species are marine.

[stargatedalek]

we get some of the marine forms here, invasive too

could certainly make for an interesting piece
and it fits so many settings, it could be scenery, invasive species awareness, etc.

[brontodocus]

Brilliant idea for a thread, stemturtle! I believe sessile, colonial animals with individuals often less than a millimeter in diameter are too obscure for most manufacturers (but thinking about what Japanese brands sometimes do, there may be a chance to see a bryozoan figure, eventually). Oh, and of course I should mention one of the most famous bryozoan fossils, the "Hamburger Bryozoenchor" which would translate into "bryozoan choir of Hamburg" (from the late cretaceous):

[stemturtle]

Ordovician Bryozoan Fossils

Thanks for your replies, stargatedalek and brontodocus. 
I appreciate the amusing photo of the "Bryozoan choir of Hamburg."

The photo above shows fossil bryozoans found in Minnesota.
These fossils motivated my interest in the living creatures.

[stargatedalek]

there is so much variety amongst colony formations

[Newt]

I think the live one is Pectinatella magnifica.  Senescent colonies wash up on the shores of my local reservoir every fall- sometimes a foot long.  I've never found a live one in situ.


My favorite fossil bryozoan is Archimedes:


http://www.indiana9fossils.com/Bryozoa/Illinois/11-20/lg10a.JPG

[widukind]

Very interesting, i also have a collection of fossils 

[stemturtle]

I think the live one is Pectinatella magnifica.  Senescent colonies wash up on the shores of my local reservoir every fall- sometimes a foot long.  I've never found a live one in situ. ...

Thanks for your magnificent identification, Newt.
Pectinatella magnifica has been reported in Minnesota.

More info: http://eol.org/pages/601031/overview