Trochophora

9 hour old trochophora larva of the abalone Haliotis asinina , a sea ​​snail . (sf - snail shell system)

As Trochophora ( ancient Greek τροχός trochos "wheel tire" φορέω phoréō "I carry") or Trochophora larvae are mostly plankton-Nazi larvae of most polychaete (Polychaeta) and other annelids , as well as some other groups of animals, including some molluscs (Mollusca) and the cupworms (Entoprocta). These taxa are grouped together within the Lophotrochozoa under the name " Trochozoa ". Not all protostomia have trochophores. Trochophoral larvae are pear-shaped to round and have a lash line (prototroch), with the help of which they move in a swirling manner. Initially they feed on stocks of yolk , later on protozoa such as algae, flagellates or bacteria.

For further development, a settlement , i.e. the settlement of the planktonic larva on a substrate , is usually necessary, which is triggered by certain chemical signal substances or a complex combination of such inducers .

Web links

Commons : Trochophores  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

1. ^ Daniel J. Jackson, Gert Wörheide, Bernard M. Degnan: Dynamic expression of ancient and novel molluscan shell genes during ecological transitions . In: BMC Evolutionary Biology . 7, No. 1, 2007, p. 160. doi : 10.1186 / 1471-2148-7-160 .