rotifer

American  

[roh-tuh-fer] / ˈroʊ tə fər /

noun

1. any microscopic animal of the phylum (or class) Rotifera, found in fresh and salt waters, having one or more rings of cilia on the anterior end.

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rotifer British  

/ rəʊˈtɪfərəl, ˈrəʊtɪfə /

noun

1. Also called: wheel animalcule.  any minute aquatic multicellular invertebrate of the phylum Rotifera , having a ciliated wheel-like organ used in feeding and locomotion: common constituents of freshwater plankton

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rotifer Scientific  

/ rō′tə-fər /

1. Any of various tiny, multicellular aquatic animals of the phylum Rotifera, having a wheel-like ring of cilia at their front ends. The cilia trap small organisms for food. Rotifers are grouped by some scientists together with nematodes and some other invertebrates as aschelminths.

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Other Word Forms

• rotiferal
  adjective
• rotiferous
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of rotifer

From New Latin, dating back to 1785–95; see origin at Rotifera

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rotifer

Each rotifer can create between 348,000 - 366,000 per day, leading to uncountable swarms of nanoparticles in our environment.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2023

But even that near-suspension of animation would have nothing on a rotifer: one of these microscopic animals, pulled out of Siberian permafrost, spent the past 25,000 years in a frozen nap before being reanimated.

From Scientific American ● Dec. 27, 2021

At least a few of those genes were still functional, producing enzymes or other products useful to the rotifer.

From New York Times ● Aug. 13, 2018

This year’s winning image of a tiny animal called a rotifer is a fascinating example of the beauty of the microscopic world, one full of color, mysterious shapes, textures, and phenomena.

From Slate ● Oct. 31, 2014

One dries up a rotifer: good night to him; somebody soaks him a little, and he wakes up to bid you good day.

From The Man With The Broken Ear by Holt, Henry