[1] This species was first described in 1852 from the Strait of Magellan, Chile, by the British naval surgeon and zoologist George Busk who gave it the name Diachoris magellanica.

[2] Beania magellanica is an encrusting colonial bryozoan forming multiple, roughly circular, blades, each a few centimetres in diameter.

The blades are formed from a single layer of zooids, each one linked to six others, giving an appearance similar to wire mesh.

[2] Like other bryozoans, the zooids feed on diatoms and organic particles which the lophophores extract from the water flowing past.

The embryos are brooded at first and then have a short planktonic larval stage, before settling on a suitable substrate to found a new colony.