An organism belonging to the phylum Ectoprocta, a group of tiny aquatic animals that live in colonies and filter-feed from water.
From Greek 'ektos' (outside) and 'proktos' (anus), referring to the positioning of the anus outside the tentacle crown in these animals. The term was coined in the 19th century by zoologists studying colonial marine organisms.
These microscopic creatures form beautiful lace-like colonies and have been building coral-like structures in oceans for over 500 million years—some scientists think they might actually help predict ocean health!
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