Adeonellopsis incisa

Adeonellopsis incisa

Gregory, 1893

Common name Bryozoan
Fossil group Bryozoans
Order Cheilostomatida
Family Adeonidae
Genus Adeonellopsis
Taxonomic status Provisionally Accepted
Geological age Ypresian

Summary

Adeonellopsis incisa was an erect colonial bryozoan composed of hundreds of minute filter-feeding zooids. Each zooid occupied its own calcified chamber while remaining physiologically integrated into the colony, allowing the colony to exploit suspended food above the muddy sea floor.

The colony probably required a firm object for attachment, such as shell or driftwood. That fits the wider London Clay pattern in which rare bryozoans are associated with debris accumulations around large wood fragments, hard islands of substrate within an otherwise soft-bottom environment.

Quick Identification

Look for: an erect calcified colony fragment with numerous tiny zooid openings arranged in regular series; examine the apertures, zooid boundaries and any specialised structures under magnification rather than relying on branch shape alone.

Diagnostic Features

  • Colony erect and rigidly calcified.
  • Zooids arranged in regular rows over both faces or surfaces of the colony fragment.
  • Zooid boundaries are distinct when preservation is good.
  • Apertural morphology and associated specialised zooids provide the main species-level characters.
  • Worn or recrystallised fragments lacking zooid detail cannot be separated reliably from related Adeonellopsis material.

Fossil Details

Fossil material
Bryozoan Colony
Preservation
Fragmentation is expected, and delicate apertural features may be lost before or after burial. Recrystallisation can make the colony appear smoother than originally. Treat the name as provisionally accepted until modern revision confirms the historic species concept.

Similar Species

Recorded Fossil Sites

No fossil-site occurrences have yet been recorded for this species.

References

  • Taylor, P. D. (2022). The contributions to bryozoology of J. W. Gregory (1864–1932). Bryozoan literature / Natural History Museum repository View reference
Last Reviewed
16 August 2026 Reviewed by Sam Harris