These obscure, spherical fossils are from the same broad group of animals as corals, jellyfish and sea anemones. However, they are more closely related to the Portuguese man o’ war than jellyfish. Unlike jellyfish, the Portuguese man o’ war isn’t a single organism, but a colony of animals each with a different form and function. Bryozoans are also colonial animals made up of many individual animals that specialise to form the different elements of the colony. Some have tentacles for feeding while others form the walls of the structure.
Find out more on the bryozoans page.