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TermFinder - an online dictionary for students

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A photograph of the head of a feather duster worm, a marine polychaete, where the head is mostly concealed by feathery branchiae, and the body in a calcareous tube.

worm

(genetic biology)

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  • Grammar: noun
    plural:
    worms
  • Definition: any of various invertebrates which have a long, flexible, rounded or flattened body, often without obvious appendages (see Usage Note below)
  • Example:
    1. Galeolaria is a common polychaete (annelid or segmented) worm.

    2. The common term "worm" includes animals from the phyla Annelida, Nematoda, Nemertea, and Platyhelminthes.
  • Usage Note: Worm is used both as a common term and as a taxonomic term covering several phyla.


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