''Euchlanis'' is a genus of

rotifers The rotifers (, from the Latin , "wheel", and , "bearing"), commonly called wheel animals or wheel animalcules, make up a phylum (Rotifera ) of microscopic and near-microscopic pseudocoelomate animals. They were first described by Rev. John H ...

belonging to the family

Euchlanidae Euchlanidae is a family of rotifers belonging to the order Ploima Ploima is an order of rotifers, microscopic invertebrates found in marine and freshwater habitats. Families According to the World Register of Marine Species, Ploima includes t ...

. Sometimes alternatively referred to as wheel animalcules, rotifers feature a characteristic circular arrangement of cilia at their front ends that is reminiscent of a turning wheel when they are in motion. The genus has a

cosmopolitan distribution In biogeography, cosmopolitan distribution is the term for the range of a taxon that extends across all or most of the world in appropriate habitats. Such a taxon, usually a species, is said to exhibit cosmopolitanism or cosmopolitism. The ext ...

Description

Rotifers have a characteristic circular arrangement of cilia at their front ends. These cilia are used to bring food particles, including bacteria, debris and small protozoans, towards the mouth. A mastax, a jaw-like structure, grinds the food as it enters the stomach. Excretory structures known as flame cells create a current that drains them into the intestines or the bladder. They have transparent bodies and two strong structures that are used for swimming. They are sheathed in a glassy shell secreted by their outer skin.

Species

The following species are accepted: * '' Euchlanis alata'' Voronkov, 1912 * '' Euchlanis arenosa'' Myers, 1936 * ''Euchlanis callimorpha'' Berzinš, 1957 * ''Euchlanis callysta'' Myers, 1930 * ''Euchlanis calpidia'' (Myers, 1930) *'' Euchlanis contorta'' (Wulfert, 1939) * ''Euchlanis dactyliseta'' Sudzuki, 1998 * ''Euchlanis dapidula'' Parise, 1966 *'' Euchlanis deflexa'' Gosse, 1851 * ''Euchlanis dilatata'' Ehrenberg, 1832 * ''Euchlanis hyphidactyla'' Parise, 1963 * ''Euchlanis incisa'' Carlin, 1939 * ''Euchlanis ligulata'' Kutikova & Vassiljeva, 1982 *'' Euchlanis lucksiana'' Hauer * ''Euchlanis lyra'' Hudson, 1886 * ''Euchlanis mamorokaensis'' Berzinš, 1973 * ''Euchlanis meneta'' Myers, 1930 *'' Euchlanis mikropous'' Koch-Althaus, 1962 * ''Euchlanis oropha'' Gosse, 1887 *'' Euchlanis parameneta'' Berzinš, 1957 * ''Euchlanis perpusilla'' De Ridder, 1977 * ''Euchlanis phryne'' Myers, 1930 * ''Euchlanis pyriformis'' Gosse, 1851 * ''Euchlanis semicarinata'' Segers, 1993 *'' Euchlanis triquetra'' Ehrenberg, 1838

References

Rotifer genera Ploima Taxa named by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg {{rotifer-stub