Celleporidae is a family of
bryozoans – colonial, aquatic, invertebrates – in the order
Cheilostomatida
Cheilostomatida, also called Cheilostomata, is an order of Bryozoa in the class Gymnolaemata.
They are exclusively marine, colonial invertebrate animals. Cheilostome colonies are composed of calcium carbonate and grow on a variety of surfaces, ...
. Structurally, they are defined by densely packed
zooids (individual animals which make up the colony). The zooids usually have irregular direction, and are defined by morphological characteristics.
Masses of the dead animals can form shallow sediments. Members of the family are
recorded from every ocean, even around Antarctica, where they are represented primarily by the genus ''
Osthimosia.''
Fossils of the family exist as old as from 235 million years ago, during the
Triassic period.
Genera
*''
Buffonellaria''
*''
Buskea''
*''
Calvipelta''
*''
Cellepora''
*''
Celleporina
''Celleporina'' is a genus of bryozoans belonging to the family Celleporidae.
The genus has almost cosmopolitan distribution
In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of ...
''
*''
Chasmatooecium''
*''
Chasmazoon''
*''
Galeopsis''
*''
Lagenipora
''Lagenipora'' is a genus of bryozoans belonging to the family Celleporidae.
The genus has almost cosmopolitan distribution.
Species:
*''Lagenipora americana''
*''Lagenipora ampullacea''
*''Lagenipora aragoi''
*''Lagenipora brevicollis''
...
''
*''
Omalosecosa''
*''
Orthoporidroides''
*''
Osthimosia''
*''
Palmicellaria''
*''
Pourtalesella''
*''
Predanophora''
*''
Pseudocelleporina''
*''
Richbunea''
*''
Scorpiodinipora''
*''
Sinuporina''
*''
Spigaleos''
*''
Tegminula''
*''
Turbicellepora''
References
Further reading
*
Cheilostomatida
Bryozoan families
Extant Eocene first appearances
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