What is an entoprocta?
1 Answer
Entoprocts are small, transparent, sessile (i.e., fixed to the substrate), solitary or colonial water animals.
The term itself means "anus inside" as the anus is next to the mouth.
Another name for them is "globet worm" but there are arguments whether or not if they are related to worms.
Entoprocts are found along the coasts of every continent. All but two known species are marine.
One of the two freshwater species, Urnatella gracilis, is not found around Antarctica and can form massive growths that may be seen by the naked eye.
Entoprocts are suspension feeders. Food is trapped by the lateral cilia and moved in a sheet of mucus to the frontal cilia, which move the mucus and food to food grooves at the base of the ring of tentacles into the mouth.
