A group of bryozoans (colonial marine animals) characterized by a small, comb-like opening used for feeding.
From Greek 'ctenis' (comb) and 'stoma' (mouth), plus the Latin plural suffix '-ata.' The name refers to the specialized mouth-like opening.
Bryozoans are incredible—they're colonies of tiny animals that build intricate lace-like structures on rocks, and ctenostomata species have uniquely evolved comb-edged feeding openings!
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