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Specimen
073
Rotifers, also called wheel animalcules, are microscopic, aquatic invertebrates, so named because the circular arrangement of moving cilia (tiny hairlike structures) at the front end resembles a rotating wheel. The body wall consists of a thin cuticle. Tufts of cilia at the anterior end make up the corona, which is used for feeding, movement and swimming. Small organisms are extracted as food from water currents created by the ciliated corona. |