with muscle fibres

Description:

Monommata (mon-owe-mat-a), a rotifer (metazoa). Rotifers typically have an exoskeleton in segments which can telescope, with a corona of feeding cilia at the anterior end and with toes or podites posteriorly. This genus has very strongly developed toes, and muscle fibres can be seen within the toes. The toes can flick suddenly. Rotifers are common members of the microbial communities of many aquatic ecosystems. Although they are multiceullar animals, they may be only be 100 microns long, and so overlap in size with ciliates. They can be confused with ciliates because they use cilia to capture their food. However, they can be distinguished because they have an exoskeleton, usually two posterior toes, and a tough pharyngeal region just behind the head.