Bryozoans are colonies made from many individual microscopic animals that are common in the seas both today and in the past.

The final specimen is a distinctive Carboniferous bryozoan, Archimedes, named after the water pump invented by the Greek philosopher. The screw-shaped central column once supported a intricate net of individual. The colony stood upright on the sea floor and probably generated feeding currents from top to bottom, spiralling these downwards like a helter-skelter.


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