heterozooid
Modified bryozoan individual
A heterozooid is a specialized individual within a colonial organism—particularly bryozoans and some hydrozoans—that differs in structure and function from the feeding members of the colony.
While ordinary zooids capture food, heterozooids may serve defensive, reproductive, or structural roles, their forms modified for tasks other than nutrition.
Colonial aquatic invertebrate
- hydroidColonial marine invertebrate
- stolonsHorizontal stems producing new plants
- polymorphismMany forms, one interface
- divisionSplitting into parts
dactylozooid · specialization · Portuguese man-of-war · colony · modular · interconnected · communal · polyp
Giving food to
- defenseProtection against harm
- reproductionCopying or procreation
- protectionGuarding against harm
- tentacleFlexible grasping appendage
digestive · nutritive · supportive · sensory · attachment · locomotion · specialized · differentiated
Animal sans backbone
- marineRelating to the sea
- planktonDrifting marine microlife
- sessileAttached at base
- pelagicOf the open sea
benthic · classification · clade · phylum · order · specimen · identification · nomenclature
bryozoan
Colonial aquatic invertebrate
- hydroidColonial marine invertebrate
- stolonsHorizontal stems producing new plants
- polymorphismMany forms, one interface
dactylozooid · division · specialization · Portuguese man-of-war · colony · modular · interconnected · communal · polyp · medusa
feeding
Giving food to
- defenseProtection against harm
- reproductionCopying or procreation
- protectionGuarding against harm
tentacle · digestive · nutritive · supportive · sensory · attachment · locomotion · specialized · differentiated · complementary
invertebrate
Animal sans backbone
pelagic · benthic · classification · clade · phylum · order · specimen · identification · nomenclature · zoological
- bryozoansElectra, phylactolaemata, avicularium