Phoronida (phylum)

Phylum including several tube-dwelling, worm-like marine invertebrates characterized by a horseshoe-shaped lophophore, which is a characteristic feeding organ. Wormlike marine invertebrates of the phylum Phoronidea, having a true body cavity divided into compartments, a cluster of tentacles at the upper end, a circulatory system, circular and longitudinal muscles, and a nervous sytem beneath the epidermis; ranging up to 15 feet in length, each individual lives in a chitinous tube which it secretes, the lower end of which is buried in the mud or sand at the bottom of shallow seas while the tentacles extend out of the t to gather food.