A family of extinct bryozoans from the Paleozoic Era, related to the genus Chaetetes, characterized by distinctive tubular colonial structures.
From the genus Chaetetes plus the taxonomic suffix -idae used for animal families, making it the family containing Chaetetes and related genera.
Chaetetidae fossils are so abundant in some ancient rocks that they actually form the bulk of the stone—imagine swimming in an ocean where the dominant builders were creatures millions of times smaller than you.
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