pogonophoran

po·go·noph·o·ran  (pg-nfr-n) also po·gon·o·phore (p-gn-fôr, -fr)

n.

Any of various wormlike marine invertebrates of the phylum Pogonophora that grow in upright chitin tubes, usually at depths greater than 100 meters (330 feet), have tentacles attached to the head region, and lack a digestive system.

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[From New Latin Pgnophora, phylum name : Greek pgn, beard + Greek -phora, neuter pl. of -phoros, -phore.]

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pogo·nopho·ran, pogo·nopho·rous adj.

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pogonophoran (pg-nfr-n) also pogonophore  (p-gn-fôr)

Any of various wormlike marine invertebrates of the phylum Pogonophora that grow in upright chitin tubes, usually at great depths. Pogonophorans have tentacles that are often featherlike and are attached to the head region. An intestine is present in the embryonic stage but disappears as the animal matures. Pogonophorans are preserved in the fossil record as early as the Cambrian Period, and are thought to be related to chaetognaths, hemichordates, and echinoderms.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

pogonophoran - slender animal with tentacles and a tubelike outer covering; lives on the deep ocean bottom beard worm worm - any of numerous relatively small elongated soft-bodied animals especially of the phyla Annelida and Chaetognatha and Nematoda and Nemertea and Platyhelminthes; also many insect larvae phylum Pogonophora, Pogonophora - beard worms