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Entoprocta
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Entoprocta (), or Kamptozoa , commonly called goblet worms, is a phylum of mostly-sessile aquatic animals, ranging from long. Mature individuals are goblet-shaped, on relatively long stalks. They have a "crown" of solid tentacles whose cilia generate water currents that draw food particles towards the mouth, and both the mouth and anus lie inside the "crown". The superficially similar Bryozoa (Ectoprocta) have the anus outside a "crown" of hollow tentacles. Most families of entoprocts are colonial, and all but 2 of the 150 species are marine. A few solitary species can move slowly.
Entoprocts, commonly called goblet worms, are tiny aquatic animals with a distinctive cup-shaped body on a stalk, equipped with a crown of solid tentacles that use tiny hair-like structures to pull food particles into their mouth. They are notable for having both their mouth and anus located inside their tentacle crown—a key feature that distinguishes them from the superficially similar bryozoans—and most species live together in colonies on ocean surfaces.
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Species
entoprocts
Entoprocta
PHYLUM
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumEntoprocta
via GBIF
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- Barentsa discreta suzukokemusi02.jpg
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Article
16 sectionsContents
- Names
- Description
- Distinguishing features
- Zooids
- Vegetative functions
- Reproduction and life cycle
- Taxonomy
- Evolutionary history
- Fossil record
- Family tree
- Ecology
- Distribution and habitats
- Interaction with other organisms
- References
- Further reading
- External links
Entoprocta (), or Kamptozoa , commonly called goblet worms, is a phylum of mostly-sessile aquatic animals, ranging from long. Mature individuals are goblet-shaped, on relatively long stalks. They have a "crown" of solid tentacles whose cilia generate water currents that draw food particles towards the mouth, and both the mouth and anus lie inside the "crown". The superficially similar Bryozoa (Ectoprocta) have the anus outside a "crown" of hollow tentacles. Most families of entoprocts are colonial, and all but 2 of the 150 species are marine. A few solitary species can move slowly.
Some species eject unfertilized ova into the water, while others keep their ova in brood chambers until they hatch, and some of these species use placenta-like organs to nourish the developing eggs. After hatching, the larvae swim for a short time and then settle on a surface. There they metamorphose, and the larval gut rotates by up to 180°, so that the mouth and anus face upwards. Both colonial and solitary species also reproduce by cloning — solitary species grow clones in the space between the tentacles and then release them when developed, while colonial ones produce new members from the stalks or from corridor-like stolons.