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ROTIFERS are an important part of the microfauna in all freshwater habitats. Only very few species are marine. In terrestrial mosses and soil you can find members of the order 'Bdelloidea', which have a characteristic body shape that shows but little variability. Though they can swim, they often move in a caterpillar-like manner. By means of their ciliated 'corona' they whirl food particles to their mouth. Bdelloid rotifers are maybe the highest category of eumetazoans that completely lacks males (I wonder if they have a boring life then). There are about 400 known species. |
| some links: | http://golgi.harvard.edu/meselson/proposal/figure1.html http://members.aol.com/bdelloid1/deloid.htm |