The proboscis is either sticky or armed with stylets and is everted from the head region. These are segmented worms. You may have to look very closely to see the segments. Some are free-swimming while others build parchment or calcareous tubes in which to live. Many have tiny fleshy flaps on the sides of each segment.
Bryozoans are microscopic individuals that form complex colonies.
They are often mistaken for encrusting algae or hydroids. Bryozoans form thin crusty patches on kelp fronds, or form bushes growths, or branching or calcareous staghorn-like growths resembling coral. This is a very large and diverse group. General features of animals in this phylum include a soft body with a portion that extends out around part of the body creating a flap called the mantle. The shell is secreted by the mantle.