A disk which surrounds the mouth and bears the tentacles of the Bryozoa. See Phylactolemata.
Lophophore - The feeding mechanism of a brachiopod, capable of extracting suspended microorganisms from water.
Complex ring of hollow tentacles used as a feeding organ. The tentacles are covered by cilia, which generate a current to bring food particles into the mouth. The structure is only found in the brachiopods, phoronids, and bryozoans. More info
a band of ciliated tentacles found along a ridge slightly elevated from the surface of the animal
a feather-like structure bearing tentacles for filter feeding, found also in bryozoans
feeding organ with filament appendages
The ring of hollow, ciliated tentacles surrounding the mouth of the zooid (Hayward & Ryland, 1979).
ciliated feeding structures, usually round or U-shaped, found in some organisms.
feeding organ composed of a circle (or horseshoe in most phylactolaemates) of ciliated tentacles.
A U-shaped fold of the body wall with hollow, ciliated tentacles that encircles the mouth of animals in several different phyla. Used for filtering prey from the surrounding water.
The lophophore is a characteristic feeding organ possessed by three major groups of animals: the Brachiopoda, Bryozoa, and Phoronida. It can most easily be described as a ring of ciliated tentacles surrounding the mouth, but it is often horseshoe-shaped or coiled. Phoronids have their lophophores in plain view, but brachiopods must be opened wide to get a good view of their lophophore.
