pod and stem like structures on bryozoan fossil rock

[Ramona]

I dug this rock up in my back yard today in Madison County, Alabama.  I was not surprised to find the typical fenestellate bryozoan fossils that I normally find, but I am puzzled by a couple of things.  I will post a some photos to show the bryozoan fossils on the rock and then macro photographs of the parts I have questions about.  The pod like structures remind me of some that I found on another rock from TN, but with encrusting bryozoan fossils...  The other "thing" looks like some type of stem?  Are these structures of the bryozoan colonies?  I see one crinoid fossil on here, too, but that stem didn't really look crinoid-ish to me? I have been known to be wrong (often), though... 

 

Thoughts and suggestions appreciated!  Thanks!! Ramona

[Ramona]

[Ramona]

[Fossildude19]

These look like branching bryozoan structures to me. 

[Ramona]

21 hours ago, Fossildude19 said:

These look like branching bryozoan structures to me. 

OK, great!  I figured it was something like that!  Thanks! I would love to see a live bryozoan colony someday to really understand how they "work"!!

[Mark Kmiecik]

On 12/16/2020 at 1:19 PM, Ramona said:

OK, great!  I figured it was something like that!  Thanks! I would love to see a live bryozoan colony someday to really understand how they "work"!!

There's close to 6000 extant species with a great deal of variation. You could make it your life's work to study them and never get to know them all.