Phoronis

This article is about the horseshoe worm genus. For other uses, see Phoronis (disambiguation).

Phoronis
Phoronis hippocrepia
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Phoronida
Family: Phoronidae
Genus: Phoronis
Wright 1856
Type species
Phoronis ovalis
Wright 1856
Species

see text

Synonyms
  • Actinotrocha Müller 1846
  • Phoronella Haeckel 1896

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.[1] They live on hard substrates or soft sediments in marine environments throughout the world.[2] They have different modes of reproduction which help with their success.

The scientific name of the larval form is Actinotrocha.

  1. ^ Phoronida
  2. ^ Temereva, Elena; Shcherbakova, Tatiana; Tzetlin, Alexander (2020-12-01). "First data on the structure of tubes formed by phoronids". Zoology. 143: 125849. doi:10.1016/j.zool.2020.125849. ISSN 0944-2006. PMID 33099239. S2CID 224887177.