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Phylum Loricifera Loriciferan, from BIODIDAC, Univ. of Ottowa.

The Loricifera were only discovered and described as a phylum in 1983, and less than a few dozen species have so far been described. All known Loriciferans are small (less than 0.4 mm) meiofaunal animals that live in the interstitial spaces of gravel or mud sediments, and have been found in waters up to several thousand meters deep. They have a body consisting of an introvert , a neck, a thorax, and an abdomen , the latter surrounded by a lorica (a cuticular casing like structure). The introvert , neck, and thorax can also be retracted into the lorica . Although both the larvae and adults appear to be free living, very little else is known about their biology. References: Barnes, Calow, and Olive, 1993 Brusca & Brusca, 1990 Meglitsch & Schram, 1991

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