General description:
Bryozoans in this family form encrusting, unilaminar; or erect colonies. Frontal shield of autozooid a spinocyst, formed from a series of flattened spines, costae, arched over the frontal membrane and fused along the midline. Costae hollow, enclosing coelomic cavities; intercostal spaces between points of fusion permit passage of water into underlying compensating space, the epistege; pseudopores, or larger uncalcified patches, present in calcification of costae. Avicularia present or absent: adventitious or vicarious. Spines present. Ovicell hyperstomial, perforate or imperforate. Pore chambers or multiporous septula present.
(Hayward and Ryland, 1998)
Taxonomic name: