The causative agent, A. diaphanum (older synonyms include A. gelatinosum), is a member of the Bryozoa phylum, which consists of minute, sessile, filter-feeding animals that live in colonies.
In her career, Duncan gained a distinguished reputation for her work on fossil corals and Bryozoa.
In 1887 he published a highly regarded work titled Die Bryozoen der weissen Schreibkreide der Insel Rügen (Bryozoa of the white chalk of Rügen).
A few species are found in the ocean depths, but most prefer low intertidal zones and subtidal waters among eelgrass, hydroids and bryozoans.
Ulrich was a prolific writer, publishing numerous pamphlets on the subject of American paleontology, treating particularly the fossil Bryozoa, Gastropoda, Ostracoda, and Pelecypoda.
As well as major contributions to stratigraphy and geological mapping, G. N. Frederiks is particularly remembered for his contributions to the paleontology of the late Paleozoic era (Carboniferous and Permian periods), notably Brachiopoda, Ammonoidea, and Bryozoa.
The diet of the fish is composed of invertebrates, including marine worms, bryozoans, crustaceans, dove snails, limpets, fish larvae, and squid.
They use their mouthparts to parasitize Spongillidae freshwater sponges (e.g. of the genus Spongilla, hence the name "spongillaflies") and Phylactolaemata freshwater bryozoans by stinging into the host animals' body and sucking out cell contents.
The zooids can either be directly connected by tissue (e.g. corals, Catenulida, Siphonophorae, Pyrosome or Ectoprocta) or share a common exoskeleton (e.g. Bryozoa or Pterobranchia).