phoronid

pho·ro·nid  (f-rnd)

n.

Any of the small, wormlike marine animals of the phylum Phoronida, inhabiting a chitinous tube and having a U-shaped digestive tract.

adj.

Of or belonging to the phylum Phoronida.

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[From New Latin Phornida, phylum name, from Phornis, type genus, probably from Latin, Phoronean, Argive (name of Io, priestess of Argos), from Phorneus, son of Inachus, king of Argos, from Greek.]

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phoronid  (f-rnd)

Any of various small, mostly solitary, wormlike marine invertebrates of the phylum Phoronida. As adults, phoronids live in the ocean floor in a tube that they secrete made of chitin. They have a U-shaped digestive tract and feed by filtering food particles with a ciliated structure called a lophophore. The larvae of phoronids are very different in appearance and are free-swimming. Phoronids are thought to be related to the brachiopods and bryozoans.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

phoronid - hermaphrodite wormlike animal living in mud of the sea bottom invertebrate - any animal lacking a backbone or notochord; the term is not used as a scientific classification Phoronida, Phoronidea, phylum Phoronida - small phylum of wormlike marine animals