# Statoblast

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thumb|Statoblast of ''Plumatella repens''
'''Statoblasts''' are a means to reproduce [asexually](/source/Asexuality) by a method that is unique among [bryozoa](/source/bryozoa)ns and enables a [colony's](/source/Colony_(biology)) lineage to survive the variable and uncertain conditions of [fresh water](/source/fresh_water) environments.<ref name="Doherty2001EctoproctaInAnderson">{{cite book|author=Doherty, P.J.|year=2001|edition=2|chapter=The Lophophorates|pages=363–373|editor=Anderson, D.T.|title=Invertebrate Zoology|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=0-19-551368-1}}</ref> Statoblasts are masses of cells that function as "survival pods" rather like the [gemmules of sponges](/source/Sponge).<ref name="RuppertFoxBarnesBryozoa">{{cite book|author=Ruppert, E.E., Fox, R.S., and Barnes, R.D.|title=Invertebrate Zoology|chapter=Lophoporata|publisher=Brooks / Cole|edition=7|isbn=0-03-025982-7|year=2004|pages=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780030259821/page/829 829–845]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780030259821/page/829}}</ref> Statoblasts form on the [funiculus (cord)](/source/Funiculus_(neuroanatomy)) connected to the parent's gut, which nourishes them.<ref name="Doherty2001EctoproctaInAnderson" /> As they grow, statoblasts develop protective [bivalve-like](/source/Bivalve_shell) shells made of [chitin](/source/chitin). When they mature, some types stick to the parent colony, some fall to the bottom, some contain air spaces that enable them to float,<ref name="RuppertFoxBarnesBryozoa" /> and some remain in the parent's cystid (outer casing) to re-build the colony if it [dies](/source/Death).<ref name="Doherty2001EctoproctaInAnderson" /> Statoblasts can remain [dormant](/source/Dormancy) for considerable periods, and while dormant can survive harsh conditions such as [freezing](/source/freezing) and [desiccation](/source/desiccation). They can be transported across long distances by [animal](/source/animal)s, floating [vegetation](/source/vegetation), [currents](/source/Ocean_current)<ref name="RuppertFoxBarnesBryozoa" /> and [wind](/source/wind)s.<ref name="Doherty2001EctoproctaInAnderson" /> When conditions improve, the valves of the shell separate and the [cells](/source/Cell_(biology)) inside develop into a [zooid](/source/zooid) that tries to form a new colony. A study estimated that one group of colonies in a patch {{convert|1|m2|sqft|sp=us}} produced 800,000&nbsp;statoblasts.<ref name="RuppertFoxBarnesBryozoa" />

==References==
{{reflist}}

Category:Bryozoology
Category:Reproduction in animals
Category:Protostome anatomy

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