LORICIFERA CHARACTERISTICS |
| Bilaterally symmetrical |
| Distinct head, neck and trunk region |
| An eversible head and protrusible mouth cone with stylets |
| A trunk covered by a cuticle case of six longitudinal plates with forward directed spines at the anterior end. |
| Larval instars separated by moults |
| A well-developed brain and ventral nerve cord |
| A pseudocolomic hydrostatic skeleton |
| A through gut with terminal anus |
| Separate sexes |
| Marine |
| Greek: lorica = breastplate, corselet; fene = to bear |
So far only one species has been described (in 1983, see above), but there are thought to be more. Recently (2010) 3 new species have been found in the Mediterranean, 200 m deep in anoxic sediment - an environment that was previously thought to support only bacteria. They are less than 3 mm long and cling to sedimentary particles; this makes detection difficult. They have an eversible, spiny stylets (see the drawing above) as found in the Kinorhynchans, but it is not known if it is everted in the same manner.