I know what you’re thinking, and the answer is no. Today’s “critter” is not an icky blob … well, OK, it kind of is … but I promise that it is still an animal! It’s called a magnificent bryozoan. Even though it looks like little more than an indiscernible ball of gunk, we’ll soon discover the important role these little guys play in their ecosystem.

What in the world is a bryozoan? Well, most of the animals people think the most about are mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish and insects. But a bryozoan is none of those. It actually belongs to its own phylum (that’s the classification rank above the class, order, family, genus and species) called Bryozoa. Sometimes they’re called “moss animals.” We humans have a backbone, so we, along with other mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish, belong to the phylum Chordata. This means that you have more in common with a goldfish than you do a bryozoan! There are more than 5,000 species of bryozoans worldwide, but we’re going to focus on the magnificent bryozoan (Pectinatella magnifica) today.

So just what is so magnificent about the magnificent bryozoan? For starters, I’ve been referring to this creature as one animal, but that actually isn’t correct. Bryozoans are colonies of tiny individual organisms, sort of like coral, called zooids. How tiny? The largest zooids are only four millimeters in size! Starting out as free-floating larvae, homeless zooids find a suitable rock, piece of wood or other submerged object to attach themselves to. For magnificent bryozoans, this will usually be in a pond, lake or swamp, sometimes streams too. If they’re in freshwater, they’re happy. Other species can be found on floating chunks of Antarctic ice or along deep sea vents on the ocean floor. Unlike most animals we are familiar with, zooids do not need to find a mate in order to reproduce because each of them possesses male and female organs. When they’re ready, they can literally clone themselves. There can be thousands of zooids making up one colony.

A fully-grown magnificent bryozoan colony is typically between 11 and 13 inches in diameter, with some reaching almost two feet. Coating the outside of the bryozoan’s gelatinous body is a soft exoskeleton covered in a layer of mucus. Peering inside, you would find few body parts recognizable to humans. Bryozoans have no heart, brain or other organs of any kind. They have no blood, and they don’t even breathe. They simply absorb oxygen from the surrounding water, expelling carbon dioxide in the process. They do however have a very basic nervous system. This allows them to sense the approach of potential threats.

Though the magnificent bryozoan might be considered icky to some, they are in fact harmless. In fact, they’re quite handy to have around! Bryozoans are filter-feeders. Zooids extend tiny tentacles from their bodies that are lined with tiny hairs called cilia and covered in mucus. They ensnare algae, phytoplankton and other microscopic organisms from the water and pull them into a waiting mouth. In return, they release clean water. Each zooid can filter 8.8 milliliters of water every day. The presence of bryozoans in a body of water means that it’s habitat is clean, healthy and free of pollution.

If you value clear rivers and lakes, then you have much reason to consider these unusual creatures truly magnificent.

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