Phylactolaemata
CLASS OF BRYOZOANS
Plumatellida; Phylactolaemates
PhylactolaemataBiological Greek: phylax, "protect, guard" + laema, "throat": "provided with a protective throat" is a class of the phylum Bryozoa whose members live only in freshwater environments. Like all bryozoans, they filter feed by means of an extensible "crown" of ciliated tentacles called a lophophore, and like nearly all bryozoans (the only known exception being Monobryozoon), they live in colonies, each of which consists of clones of the founding member.