Biology
Gonozooid with broken roof, showing the interior of the brood chamber where embryos develop before being released as larvae © A Waeschenbach and P Taylor
Reproduction
Most living cyclostome bryozoans are thought to reproduce via polyembryony in which
- sperm is taken up from the surrounding seawater and results in an internally fertilised embryo
- clonal replication of this embryo results in several genetically identical individuals
- the embryos are brooded in a gonozooid before being released as larvae
Dispersal
The larvae of cyclostome bryozoans are short-lived and settle within hours of being released. Nothing is known about the structure or behaviour of the larvae of Tennysonia stellata.