WORMS Adult animals that have soft, elongated, often tubelike bodies and that lack backbones are commonly called worms. Worms are so different from one another that zoologists do not classify them together in a single group; they place them in about a dozen different and often unrelated taxonomic groups called phyla. In everyday language the name worm may be loosely applied to other animals as well to the larvae, or immature forms, of some insects, …
showed first 75 words of 1472 total

showed last 75 words of 1472 total
…species of long, usually slender worms. Primarily nonparasitic marine forms. roundworms (Nematoda). More than 10,000 species of slender, cylindrical worms. Freshwater, saltwater, and terrestrial habitats. Parasitic and free-living forms. segmented worms (Annelida). About 9,000 species of long, round or flattened, segmented worms. Terrestrial, freshwater, and saltwater habitats. Parasitic and free-living forms. spiny-headed worms (Acanthocephala). About 500 species of cylindrical worms with hooks on snout. All parasitic. spoon worms (Echiura). Sausage-shaped marine scavengers with flattened, often spoonlike, front ends.