Overview
Entoprocta (Gr. e?t??, entos inside + p???t??, proktos anus) is a of small aquatic animals, ranging in size from 0.5 mm to 5.0 mm. They have a lophophore, and as their name suggests, are distinguished from other lophophorates by the position of the anus inside the ring of cilia rather than outside. Other names include goblet worm and kamptozoan.
Entoprocts are filter feeders, their tentacles secreting a mucus that catches food particles, which is then moved towards the mouth by cilia on the tentacles. Nearly all species are sedentary, attached to the substrate by a stalk, with the body being cup-shaped. Some species are colonial, with multiple animals on branching systems of stalks.
Entoprocts can reproduce either by budding, or sexually. They are unusual in being sequential hermaphrodites.
The phylum includes about 150 species in several families. While most species are marine, the freshwater species Urnatella gracilis is widespread.
Family Barentsiidae
- Genus Barentsia
- Genus Pedicellinopsis
- Genus Pseudopedicellina
- Genus Coriella
- Genus Urnatella
Family Loxokalypodidae
- Genus Loxokalypus
Family Loxosomatidae
- Genus Loxosoma
- Genus Loxosomella
- Genus Loxomitra
- Genus Loxosomespilon
- Genus Loxocore
Family Pedicellinidae
- Genus Pedicellina
- Genus Myosoma
- Genus Chitaspis
- Genus Loxosomatoides
Taxonomy
The Phylum Entoprocta is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Subphylum (1): Chlorophytina
- Infraphylum (1): Tetraphytae
- Class (1): Not Assigned
- Species: ZipcodeZoo has pages for 201 species and subspecies in the Phylum Entoprocta.
Classes
Not Assigned
At least 4,347 species and subspecies belong to the Class Not Assigned.
More info about the Class Not Assigned may be found here.
References
Sources
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