Freshwater and brackish bryozoan species of Croatia (Bryozoa: Gymnolaemata, Phylactolaemata) and their genetic identification.

Freshwater and brackish species of bryozoans belong to the Phylactolaemata and Gymnolaemata class. Twelve species of bryozoans were recorded and morphologically determined at eight locations in the Black Sea and the Adriatic basin in Croatia. Twelve species of Bryozoa have been listed in the taxonomic index for Croatia (Conopeum seurati, Lophopus crystallinus Paludicella articulata, Cristatella mucedo, Fredericella sultana, Hyalinella punctata, Plumatella casmiana, Plumatella emarginata, Plumatella fruticosa, Plumatella fungosa, Plumatella geimermassardi and Plumatella repens).

Bryozoans are returning home: recolonization of freshwater ecosystems inferred from phylogenetic relationships.

Bryozoans are aquatic invertebrates that inhabit all types of aquatic ecosystems. They are small animals that form large colonies by asexual budding. Colonies can reach the size of several tens of centimeters, while individual units within a colony are the size of a few millimeters.