Kinorhyncha
/ˌkʌɪnə(ʊ)ˈrɪŋkə
/plural noun Zoology
A small phylum of minute marine invertebrates that have a spiny body and burrow in sand or mud.I was assigned the Kinorhyncha, Tardigrada and Priapulida as topics to present....
- The fine structure of the mouth cone, the introvert with scalids, and the circumenteric brain indicate that this meiofaunal phylum is monophyletic, related to Kinorhyncha and Priapulida.
- The Kinorhyncha are microscopic, spiny-headed worms.
Derivatives
kinorhynch
- However, one part of that group - the priapulids, kinorhynchs, and loriciferans - appears to form a group in its own right.
- The kinorhynch body is divided into 3 regions: head (= introvert), very short neck, and trunk.
- Discovered in 1983, these tiny worms have a spiny head, and so resemble the kinorhynchs to which they are related.
Origin
Modern Latin (plural), from Greek kinein 'set in motion' + rhunkos 'snout'.