| Juxtaposition of a very simplyfied scheme of the morphology of bdelloid rotifers with some photographs of specimens from the corresponding groups. Basically the bdelloid rotifers have 4 body parts: head, trunk, rump and foot. The two images on the left side represent the two different types of appearance of the groups Philodinida and Philodinavida, whereas the right image represents the appearance of a rotifer of the group Adinetida. In the latter group the shape during locomotion or feeding is essentially the same. In the other groups (left) the typical "bdelloid" (= leech-like) movement shows a different appearance of the frontal part (with the rostrum pointing forward and the corona retracted). For most Habrotrochidae, Philodinidae and Philodinavida it is impossible to securely identify a specimen in this creeping mode. |
