Phoronids

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Small marine animals characterized by a horseshoe-shaped lophophore used for feeding; they secrete a tube in which they live; classified within a phylum distinct from worms and mollusks
2. Aquatic invertebrates that possess a crown of tentacles for filter feeding; they inhabit chitinous tubes on the ocean floor; represent a unique group separate from related worm-like creatures
3. Creatures living in hard tubes underwater, using a specialized feeding structure composed of ciliated tentacles; they belong to an isolated phylum of benthic organisms; differ markedly from typical marine worms or shellfish

Etymology: "Phoronids" is the plural of "phoronid," the name for a small group of worm-like marine animals that live inside tough tubes they build themselves. The singular form ends in the suffix "-id," which in zoology marks a member of a particular animal family or group, so the name simply means a member of the phoronid group. Its plural is formed in the regular English way, with an added "s."

Synonyms: horseshoe worms