Priapulida facts for kids
Quick facts for kids PriapulidaTemporal range: Middle Cambrian to Recent
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| Priapulus caudatus | |
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Priapulida
Théel, 1906
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Priapulida (priapulid) are a phylum of marine worms. Their name refers to their extensible spiny proboscis. They live in the mud, which they eat, in comparatively shallow waters up to 90 metres (300 ft).
Their nearest relatives are probably Kinorhyncha and Loricifera with which they constitute the taxon Scalidophora. Besides arthropods and velvet worms, the priapulids are the only members of the Ecdysozoa which are relatively large in size. They feed on slow-moving invertebrates, such as polychaete worms.
Priapulid fossils are known at least as far back as the Middle Cambrian. They were probably major predators of the Cambrian period. There are only sixteen known living species of priapulid worms.
Images for kids
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Ottoia tricuspida in the Burgess Shale. Middle Cambrian
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Microfossil of a priapulid tooth (Ottoia, Cambrian). From Smith et al. 2015
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Illustration of Ottoia, a prehistoric priapulid.
See also
In Spanish: Priapulida para niños
