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Nemertea

File:Nemertea_by_Joubin.jpg · Wikimedia Commons · See Wikimedia Commons

EntityQ185631· pop 56· linked from 489 articles

Also known as nemertean, nemerteans, ribbon worms, proboscis worms

Nemertea is a phylum of animals also known as ribbon worms or proboscis worms, consisting of about 1300 known species. Most ribbon worms are very slim, usually only a few millimeters wide, although a few have relatively short but wide bodies. Many have patterns of yellow, orange, red and green coloration. The foregut, stomach and intestine run a little below the midline of the body, the anus is at the tip of the tail, and the mouth is under the front. A little above the gut is the , a cavity which mostly runs above the midline and ends a little short of the rear of the body. All species have

OverviewAI-generated

Nemertea is a phylum within the kingdom Animalia, commonly referred to as nemertines. The taxon holds an accepted status in biological classification. Its habitats include marine, brackish, and freshwater environments.

Records of Nemertea have been documented in the United States, Panama, South Africa, French Polynesia, and Australia. These records are held by institutions including USNM, YPM, CAS, and AM. The subject is associated with 272,936 occurrences and 10,878 records, which include 1,170 media items.

Synthesized by Vinony from 19 facts across 6 sources: Wikidata, GBIF, Gbif Occ, WoRMS, iDigBio, Vinony graph. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Species

nemertines

Nemertea

PHYLUM

  1. KingdomAnimalia
  2. PhylumNemertea
Habitatmarine, brackish, freshwater
Observations recorded272,936

via GBIF

Museum specimens

Specimen records
10,878
With media
1,170
Collections
USNM, YPM, CAS, AM
Recorded in
United States, Panama, South Africa, French Polynesia, Australia

Wikidata facts

Instance of
taxon
Subclass of
invertebrate
Parent taxon
Spiralia
Image
Proboscis worm.JPG
Show 4 more facts
taxon rank
phylum
Commons category
Nemertea
taxon name
Nemertea
taxon common name
nitkarji
Sources (3)

via Wikidata · CC0

~29 min read

Encyclopedic overview

19 sections
Contents
  • History
  • Description
  • Body structure and major cavities
  • Proboscis and feeding
  • Respiration and circulatory system
  • Excretion
  • Nervous-system and senses
  • Movement
  • Reproduction and life-cycle
  • Ecological significance
  • Taxonomy
  • Evolutionary history
  • Fossil record
  • Within Nemertea
  • Relationships with other phyla
  • See also
  • Notes
  • References
  • External links

Nemertea is a phylum of animals also known as ribbon worms or proboscis worms, consisting of about 1300 known species. Most ribbon worms are very slim, usually only a few millimeters wide, although a few have relatively short but wide bodies. Many have patterns of yellow, orange, red and green coloration.

The foregut, stomach and intestine run a little below the midline of the body, the anus is at the tip of the tail, and the mouth is under the front. A little above the gut is the , a cavity which mostly runs above the midline and ends a little short of the rear of the body. All species have a proboscis which lies in the rhynchocoel when inactive but everts to emerge just above the mouth to capture the animal's prey with venom. A highly extensible muscle in the back of the rhynchocoel pulls the proboscis in when an attack ends. A few species with stubby bodies filter feed and have suckers at the front and back ends, with which they attach to a host.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Nemertea” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.

Gallery (25)