Ectoprocta

Translingual

Etymology

From ecto- + Ancient Greek πρωκτός (prōktós, anus).

Proper noun

Ectoprocta

  1. (chiefly obsolete) A taxonomic phylum within the kingdom Animalia – the Bryozoa or moss animals.

Usage notes

  • This taxon name has been generally abandoned in favor of Bryozoa, but is still used by some authors, particularly those who wish to indicate a phylogenetic affinity with the phylum Entoprocta (in which case this would be ranked below phylum, and Bryozoa would be the phylum containing both the Entoprocta and Ectoprocta), or who dispute that Bryozoa is a lophophorate phylum as conventionally defined.

Further reading