adjective
- of or relating to animals that possess a lophophore, a circular or horseshoe-shaped feeding structure with tentacles
Usage: technical; biology
noun
- an animal belonging to the group Lophophorata, which includes brachiopods, bryozoans, and phoronids
Usage: technical; zoology
Examples
- Lophophorate organisms use their tentacle-bearing lophophore to filter food from water.
- Brachiopods are among the most well-known lophophorates in the fossil record.
- The lophophorate feeding apparatus is a distinctive feature shared across several marine phyla.
- Marine biologists study lophophorates to understand early animal evolution.
- Bryozoans, as lophophorates, have remained relatively unchanged for millions of years.