statoblast
/ˈstatə(ʊ)blast
/noun Zoology
(In bryozoans) a resistant reproductive body produced asexually.Horse-shoe shaped lophophore… No fossil record except for a few statoblasts (resistant wintering structures) from Quaternary sediments....
- These cell masses, known as statoblasts, remain dormant for some time and can withstand drying and freezing; when conditions are favorable, the statoblasts germinates and forms a new zooid.
- Genetic changes within freshwater bryozoan populations suggest temporal gene flow from statoblast banks