Entoprocta

Question 1

Characteristics (5)

Answer 1

Small, sessile (attached) aquatic invertebrates.

Crown of ciliated tentacles surrounding the mouth, used for feeding.

Anus located inside the tentacle crown (hence the name “Entoprocta,” meaning
“inside anus”).

U-shaped gut, with both mouth and anus opening in the same region.

Lack a true coelom (they are pseudocoelomates or acoelomates, depending on
classification).

Question 2

body form adult

Answer 2

Size: Usually 0.1–5 mm in length.

Question 3

body wall and support

Answer 3

Body Wall: Thin cuticle-covered epidermis, with some species having a stalk for attachment.

Support: No rigid skeleton; some have calcareous or gelatinous stalks.

Question 4

locomotion (2) and body cavity

Answer 4

Locomotion:
- Mostly sessile, attached to surfaces like rocks, algae, or shells.
- Some species can creep slowly using their stalks.

Body Cavities: No true coelom (acoelomate or pseudocoelomate).

Question 5

feeding.digestion (3) and circulation

Answer 5

Nutrition (Feeding/Digestion):
-Filter feeders that use cilia on their tentacles to create water currents.
-Capture plankton and organic particles, which are transported to the
mouth.
-Digestion occurs in the simple U-shaped gut.

Circulation: Lacks a circulatory system; nutrients are distributed by diffusion.

Question 6

excretion and gas exchange

Answer 6

Excretion (Osmoregulation): Use protonephridia (flame cells) to remove metabolic waste.

Gas Exchange (Respiration): Oxygen diffuses across the body surface.

Question 7

Nervous system (2)

Answer 7

Simple nerve net with a small cerebral ganglion.
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Have sensory cilia to detect water flow and particles.

Question 8

reproduction and development (4)

Answer 8

Can reproduce both sexually and asexually.
●
Hermaphroditic, but some species show separate sexes.
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Brood their embryos inside a protective chamber.
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Larvae are free-swimming before settling and transforming into adults.

Question 9

habitat (3)

Answer 9

Found in marine environments, mostly in shallow waters.

Attach to hard substrates such as rocks, shells, algae, and even other
invertebrates.

Some species form colonial clusters, while others are solitary.

Question 10

what do they resemble?

Answer 10

Superficially resemble Bryozoans, but they are not closely related.

Question 11

What evolutionary position are they?

Answer 11

Despite their simple appearance, their phylogenetic position is debated,
sometimes linked to Lophotrochozoa.