lophophore

…to the filaments of the lophophore, a horseshoe-shaped organ that filters food particles from the seawater. Cilia in lophophore grooves bring food particles, often trapped in mucus, to the mouth. Brachiopods feed on minute organisms or organic particles. Articulate brachiopods, which have a blind intestine, may depend partly on dissolved…

…by means of a protrusible lophophore, a structure at the anterior end that bears a circle or paired spiral of as many as 1,500 ciliated tentacles. The cilia produce a water current, and the tentacles trap food particles beneath a flap (epistome) that covers the central mouth. Groups of lophophores…

…invertebrate animals that possess a lophophore, a fan of ciliated tentacles around the mouth. Movements of the cilia create currents of water that carry food particles toward the mouth. The lophophorates include the moss animals (phylum Bryozoa), lamp shells (phylum Brachiopoda), and phoronid worms (phylum Phoronida). The phyla are no…