Poole, Karen E.
Phoronis
Sign in to savePhoronis is one of the two genera of the horseshoe worm family (Phoronidae), in the phylum Phoronida. The body has two sections, each with its own coelom. There is a specialist feeding structure, the lophophore, which is an extension of the wall of the coelom and is surrounded by tentacles. The gut is U-shaped. The diagnostic feature that distinguishes this genus is the lack of epidermal invagination at the base of the lophophore. These worms are filter feeders. They live on hard substrates or soft sediments in marine environments throughout the world. They have different modes of reproduction
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 150
- With media
- 6
- Family
- Phoronidae
- Collections
- LACM, USNM, YPM, CAS, SIO
- Recorded in
- United States, French Polynesia, New Zealand, Canada
~6 min read
Encyclopedic overview
14 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- Species
- Distribution
- Structure
- Tube
- Nervous and digestive systems
- Lophophore
- Development
- Embryos
- Larvae
- Adult
- Reproduction
- Parasite
- References
Phoronis is one of the two genera of the horseshoe worm family (Phoronidae), in the phylum Phoronida. The body has two sections, each with its own coelom. There is a specialist feeding structure, the lophophore, which is an extension of the wall of the coelom and is surrounded by tentacles. The gut is U-shaped. The diagnostic feature that distinguishes this genus is the lack of epidermal invagination at the base of the lophophore. These worms are filter feeders. They live on hard substrates or soft sediments in marine environments throughout the world. They have different modes of reproduction which help with their success.
The scientific name of the larval form is Actinotrocha.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Phoronis” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.
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