Bryozoans are tiny colonial animals that generally build stony skeletons of calcium carbonate, superficially similar to coral. They are also known as moss animals or sea mats. They generally prefer warm, tropical waters but are known to occur worldwide. There are about 5,000 living species, with several times that number of fossil forms known.

Most species of Bryozoan live in marine environments, though there are about 50 species which inhabit freshwater. In their aquatic habitats, bryozoans may be found on all types of hard substrates: sand grains, rocks, shells, wood, blades of kelp, pipes and ships may be heavily encrusted with bryozoans. Some bryozoan colonies, however, do not grow on solid substrates, but form colonies on sediment. While some species have been found at depths of 8,200 meters, most bryozoans inhabit much shallower water. Most bryozoans are sessile and immobile, but a few colonies are able to creep about, and a few species of non-colonial bryozoans live and move about in the spaces between sand grains. One remarkable species makes its living while floating in the Antarctic (Great Southern) Ocean. Several Bryozoan species can be found in the Mid West Section of the United States, especially in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky which used to be a part of a large ocean.

Bryozoans are also colony-forming animals. A few to many millions of individuals may form one colony. The colonies range from millimeters to meters in size, but the individuals that make up the colonies are tiny, usually less than a millimeter long. In each colony, different individuals assume different functions. Some individuals gather up the food for the colony (autozooids), others depend on them (heterozooids). Some individuals are devoted to strengthening the colony (kenozooids), and still others to cleaning the colony (vibracula). There is only a single known solitary species, Monobryozoon ambulans, which does not form colonies.

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