Girdle Wearers: Loricifera
Bucket-tailed Loriciferan (rugiloricus Cauliculus): Species Account
Physical characteristics: Adult bucket-tailed loriciferans (LAW-ruh-SIH-fuh-ruhns) are 0.007 to 0.01 inch (180 to 264 micrometers) long. The head has nine rows of spines. The armored band has 60 folds. The anal (AY-nuhl) cone is pointed.
Geographic range: Bucket-tailed loriciferans live off the coast of North Carolina and South Carolina, United States; in the Mediterranean Sea; and around a small group of islands north of the United Kingdom.
Habitat: Bucket-tailed loriciferans live on sand at a depth of 660 to 1,640 feet (200 to 500 meters).
Diet: Bucket-tailed loriciferans eat bacteria.
Behavior and reproduction: Scientists do not know how bucket-tailed loriciferans behave. They have sexual and asexual life cycles.
Bucket-tailed loriciferans live on sand at a depth of 660 to 1,640 feet (200 to 500 meters).
Bucket-tailed loriciferans and people: Bucket-tailed loriciferans have no known importance to people.
Conservation status: Bucket-tailed loriciferans are not considered threatened or endangered. ∎
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Books:
Valentine, James W. On the Origin of Phyla. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2004.
Young, Craig M., ed. Atlas of Marine Invertebrate Larvae. San Diego, CA: Academic, 2002.
Web sites:
"Between the Grains." The Why Files. http://whyfiles.org/022critters/meiofauna.html (accessed on February 4, 2005).
Additional topics
Animal Life ResourceJellyfish, Sponges, and Other Simple AnimalsGirdle Wearers: Loricifera - Physical Characteristics, Behavior And Reproduction, Bucket-tailed Loriciferan (rugiloricus Cauliculus): Species Account - GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, HABITAT, DIET, GIRDLE WEARERS AND PEOPLE, CONSERVATION STATUS