Phylum PHORONIDA

The phylum Phoronida contains only a few species, those being in the genera Phoronis and Phoronopsis. They live in chitinous tubes that are either vertically buried in soft sediment or firmly attached to hard substratum. They have a horseshoe-shaped lophophore with ciliated tentacles which surrounds the mouth and is used to trap food particles. Their digestive tract is U-shaped with the anus being close to the mouth, although it is outside of the lophophore. The end of the body has a distinct bulb which contains the stomach and also serves to anchor the animal in its tube. Phoronids can be either gonochoristic or hermaphroditic. Asexual reproduction occurs by budding or transverse fission, whereas sexual reproduciton occurs by females brooding their young or by egg and sperm being release into the water to be fertilized.

Phoronis vancouverensis