Loricifera
| Loricifera Temporal range: (total group) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pliciloricus enigmaticus, illustration by Carolyn Bartlett Gast | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Subkingdom: | Eumetazoa |
| Clade: | ParaHoxozoa |
| Clade: | Bilateria |
| Clade: | Nephrozoa |
| Clade: | Protostomia |
| Superphylum: | Ecdysozoa |
| Phylum: | Loricifera Kristensen, 1983 |
| Families and genera | |
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Loricifera (from Latin, lorica, corselet (armour) + Latin fero, to carry or bear), also known as corset animals, is a phylum of very small to microscopic marine scalidophoran sediment-dwelling animals with 44 described species and approximately 100 more that have been collected and not yet described. Their sizes range from 100 μm to c. 1 mm.
They are characterized by a protective outer case known as a lorica and their habitat is in the spaces between marine gravel to which they attach themselves. The phylum was discovered in 1983 by R.M. Kristensen, near Roscoff, France. They are among the most recently discovered groups of animals. They attach themselves quite firmly to the substrate, which is why they remained undiscovered for so long. The first specimen was collected in the 1970s, and described in 1983. They are found at all depths, in different sediment types, and in all latitudes.