### animal | invertebrate:

Ctenophore
* All ctenophores are predators, and most are nearly transparent
  - bear both an ovary and a testis
* Many Ctenophores possess solid, contractile tentacles
  - ctenophores have two long tentacles, but some lack tentacles completely
* Most ctenophores have two long tentacles , but some lack tentacles completely.
* Some ctenophores live in somewhat brackish water, but all are confined to marine habitats.
  * are the most basal known type of animals. Dunn 'et al.' 2008.
* also have distinctive adhesive cells
  - resemble cnidarians in having a decentralized nerve net rather than a brain
* are active predators hunting constantly for small crustaceans and other plankton
  - also highly bioluminescent, meaning they can produce and emit their own light
  - hermaphrodite and many are bioluminescent
  - hermaphroditic
  - strictly carnivorous and prey on a variety of planktonic animals
* are the largest animals that use cilia for locomotion
* consume zooplankton, small fish, jellyfish, and other comb jellies.
* have connective tissues and a nervous system
  - eight rows of comblike plates arranged longitudinally around the body
  - tentacles that have sticky filaments to capture their prey
* lack the nematocysts characteristic of jellyfish.
* move by beating the cilia on their eight ctenes
  - through the water by a. somersaulting
* show biradial symmetry.
+ Radiata: Groups of phyla :: Taxonomy
  * This means the bilaterism in species like 'N. vectensis' has a primary origin. Also the free-swimming planula larvae of cnidarians exhibit bilateral symmetry. Ctenophores show biradial symmetry.

Entoproct
* Most Entoprocts are coastal marine species, commonly found in rock pools.
* are almost entirely a marine group.
* is an invertebrate

Marine invertebrate
* Many marine invertebrates travel considerable distances during certain seasons.
* are especially popular in the eastern United States and the Midwest
  - moderately diverse
  - still the dominant form of life on Earth
* can be osmoconformers because they live in salt water.
* tend to be osmoregulators.

### animal | invertebrate:

Phoronid
* are aquatic worms that build hard chitinous tubes
  - normally very thin
  - suspension-feeders
  - worm-shaped , but with a gut that loops and exits the body near the mouth
* follow one of two types of reproductive strategy.
* have red blood in a closed system of vessels.
+ Phoronida, Anatomy
  - Feeding
  * Phoronids are suspension-feeders. They move their lophophores into the prevailing water current. Food particles in the water current are trapped in a stream of mucous that travels along the tentacles until it reaches the oral ring. There it is drawn into the mouth and then on into the digestive tract. Direct uptake of amino acids through the epidermis also occurs
  - Reproduction
  * Phoronids may be hermaphrodites or single sexed, and may also reproduce asexually. Gametes are released through the nephridia. Fertilisation is probably internal. Phoronids follow one of two types of reproductive strategy. These eggs are brooded within the adults tube, they are released only when they have hatched. These eggs are released as soon as they are fertilised. They hatch a few days later into what is called an 'actinotrocha' larvae. Metamorphosis is 'catastrophic', occurring in less than 30 minutes and leading to a slender young phoronid
+ Phoronida: Minor phyla
  * Phoronids are worm-shaped, but with a gut that loops and exits the body near the mouth. That explains the name 'horseshoe worms'.

Sipunculid
* are all marine.
* dig out burrows underneath boulders which lie in mud.
* feed on organic matter that they extract from sand and mud.
* is an invertebrate

Small invertebrate
* Many small invertebrates use lichens for habitat and camouflage.
* are easy to use in the lab and they model important physiological principles.
* comprise the bulk of their diet.