Phoronid

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

  1. A marine invertebrate belonging to a small phylum characterized by a tube-like body and a lophophore used for feeding and respiration ; refers to any species within this group distinguished by their soft body and habitation in sediment or attached tubes in ocean environments ; denotes shell-less aquatic animals that use a specialized crown of ciliated tentacles to capture food particles from the water column
  2. A group of worm-like sea creatures with a tubular structure and a crown of tentacles for filter feeding, living mostly in marine benthic habitats ; includes organisms recognized by their elongated bodies enclosed in chitinous tubes, possessing a feeding apparatus called a lophophore ; describes soft-bodied benthic animals that create protective tubes and use a ring of cilia-lined tentacles to gather plankton from seawater
  3. A phylum of marine animals with elongated, soft bodies contained within chitinous tubes and a distinctive fan-like crown of ciliated tentacles used to filter feed ; comprises invertebrates that live buried in or attached to substrates in oceans, employing a lophophore for feeding and respiration ; defines creatures lacking shells, named for their unique tubular body plan and aquatic filter-feeding apparatus of tentacles arranged in a circle

Etymology: Phoronids are not true worms, though the name suggests otherwise. The word is a scientific coinage built on "Phoronis," the name of the genus that gave the group its label. Zoologists add the suffix "-id" to genus names to mark membership in a group, so "phoronid" simply means a member of the Phoronida. The name was formed in Modern Latin and has no ancient Greek usage behind it. The animals live inside tough, tube-shaped shells of their own making, which they build in sand or mud. From the tube they extend a crown of ciliated tentacles, called a lophophore, that sweeps food particles toward the mouth. Because of this feeding structure, many zoologists group phoronids with bryozoans and brachiopods rather than with worms.

Synonyms: horseshoe worm