Narrow Throat Bryozoans

Stenolaemata are a class of exclusively marine bryozoans. Stenolaemates originated and diversified since the early Cambrian. All extant (living) species are in the order Cyclostomatida, the third-largest order of living bryozoans.

These animals are stationary suspension feeders that live on the ocean floor. They formed colonies with robust, calcified exoskeletons, allowing for a high potential for fossil preservation. The individual zooids in the colony may be tubular, conical, or sac-shaped. Each individual, or zooid, may extend from the colony at an angle, extending its tentacles to feed. The fossil genus Batostoma in the order Trepostomatida existed in monticular colonies.