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Phylactolaemata is a class of the phylum Bryozoa whose members live only in freshwater environments. Like all bryozoans, they
Phylactolaemate colonies reproduce sexually, and each member is a simultaneous hermaphrodite that functions as both male and female. They also reproduce asexually by a method that is unique among bryozoans and enables a colony's lineage to survive the variable and uncertain conditions of freshwater environments. Among the classes of the bryozoans, the phylactoaemata have the most aberrant spermatozoon. Throughout summer and autumn they produce disc-shaped statoblasts, masses of cells that function as "survival pods" rather like the gemmules of sponges. Statoblasts form on the funiculus (cord) connected to the parent's gut, which nourishes them. As they grow, statoblasts develop protective bivalve-like shells made of chitin. When they mature, some types stick to the parent colony, some fall to the bottom, some contain air spaces that enable them to float, and some remain in the parent's cystid (outer casing) to re-build the colony if it dies. Statoblasts can remain dormant for considerable periods, and while dormant can survive harsh conditions such as freezing and desiccation. They can be transported across long distances by animals, floating vegetation, currents and winds. When conditions improve, the valves of the shell separate and the cells inside develop into a zooid that tries to form a new colony. A study estimated that one group of colonies in a patch produced 800,000 statoblasts.
filter feed
Filter feeders are a sub-group of suspension feeding animals that feed by straining suspended matter and food particles from water, typically by passing the water over a specialized filtering structure. Some animals that use this method of feedin ...
by means of an extensible "crown" of ciliated tentacles called a lophophore, and like nearly all bryozoans (the only known exception being Monobryozoon
''Monobryozoon'' is a genus of bryozoans belonging to the family Monobryozoidae.
The species of this genus are found in Northern Europe.
Species:
*''Monobryozoon ambulans''
*''Monobryozoon bulbosum''
*''Monobryozoon sandersi
''Monobryozoon ...
), they live in colonies, each of which consists of clones of the founding member. Unlike those of some marine bryozoans, phylactolaemate colonies consist of only one type of zooid, the feeding forms known as autozooids. These are supported by an unmineralized " exoskeleton" made of gelatinous material or protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, res ...
, secreted by the zooids. The class contains only one extant order, Plumatellida.
Fossil record
Phylactolaemata is regarded to have been the earliest group of bryozoans to evolve. However, because they did not have calcified skeletons, these early bryozoans would have had very low potential to fossilize. Fossils of phylactolaemate statoblasts, which consist of protective chitinous shells that serve as protection for dormant masses of cells holding the potential to grow new colonies, have been found rarely, dating back to the Permian. It is possible that the absence of statoblasts in earlier rocks is because statoblasts evolved as an adaptation for surviving in freshwater, and earlier phylactolaemates were marine.Biology
Phylactolaemate colonies reproduce sexually, and each member is a simultaneous hermaphrodite that functions as both male and female. They also reproduce asexually by a method that is unique among bryozoans and enables a colony's lineage to survive the variable and uncertain conditions of freshwater environments. Among the classes of the bryozoans, the phylactoaemata have the most aberrant spermatozoon. Throughout summer and autumn they produce disc-shaped statoblasts, masses of cells that function as "survival pods" rather like the gemmules of sponges. Statoblasts form on the funiculus (cord) connected to the parent's gut, which nourishes them. As they grow, statoblasts develop protective bivalve-like shells made of chitin. When they mature, some types stick to the parent colony, some fall to the bottom, some contain air spaces that enable them to float, and some remain in the parent's cystid (outer casing) to re-build the colony if it dies. Statoblasts can remain dormant for considerable periods, and while dormant can survive harsh conditions such as freezing and desiccation. They can be transported across long distances by animals, floating vegetation, currents and winds. When conditions improve, the valves of the shell separate and the cells inside develop into a zooid that tries to form a new colony. A study estimated that one group of colonies in a patch produced 800,000 statoblasts.References
{{Taxonbar, from1=Q4173968, from2=Q38957 Monotypic eukaryote classes Protostome classes