Biology / Unit 10 Bio 2253 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Phylum Rotifera
Captions available
The idea
Rotifers are microscopic, pseudocoelomate animals named for a ciliated feeding structure around the mouth that appears to rotate as its cilia beat, sweeping food toward it.
In practice
A rotifer's beating ciliary crown draws algae and bacteria toward its mouth, resembling a spinning wheel.
Where people slip
Rotifers are pseudocoelomate, unlike most Lophotrochozoa phyla, which are coelomate; the clade is defined by molecular evidence, not body-cavity type.
Your place on the trail
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Builds on
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