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Gastrotricha
Greek: gaster = stomach, thrix = hair

home Animal kingdon Taxonomy Geological table definitions
 
THEY HAVE/ARE

THEYDON'T HAVE

An outer cuticle and ventral cilia A body cavity
Bilaterally symmetrical and worm-like Circulatory or gaseous exchange systems
A body covered in spines, hooks and adhesive tubes  
A through gut and anus  
A nervous system and two longitudinal cords  
Hermaphrodite or parthenogenic  
Aquatic  

Gastrothrichs are small (less than 4 mm), dorsoventrally flattened, transparent worms. At the anterior end they have sensory bristles, cilia, sensory pits, and some species have eye spots. The body ends in a tail or fork. Over 400 species are known. They inhabit interstitial spaces in sand, and move using epidermal cilia, or loop in a leech-like fashion using adhesive tubes, see Chaetonotus sp. on the right which has two adhesive tubes. Males tend to be rare and poorly developed.

GASTROTRICHA
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