phoronid

[ fuh-roh-nid ]

noun

any member of the invertebrate phylum Phoronida, wormlike marine animals living in a chitinous tube and having an anterior structure bearing ciliated tentacles for feeding.

adjective

belonging or pertaining to the phoronids.

Origin of phoronid

¹

<New Latin Phoronida, equivalent to Phoron(is) name of genus (<Latin: a name of Io) + -ida neuter plural noun suffix; see -id²

Words Nearby phoronid

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Scientific definitions for phoronid

phoronid

[ fə-rō′nĭd ]

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.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

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