Giboshi Mushi (Gibojumushi) - Giboshi Mushi

Japanese: ギボシムシ(擬宝珠虫) - ギボシムシ

A general term for hemichordates belonging to the class Enteropneusta. All live in the sea, and about 80 species are known from around the world. This name comes from the fact that the snout at the front end of the body resembles the finial of a bridge railing. They live in U-shaped holes they dig in the organic sand and mud of the coast. Their bodies are long and cylindrical, and consist of three parts: the snout on the anterior body, the collar on the middle body, and the posterior body further back. The snout is oval or conical, and it moves the cilia densely growing on its surface to collect food such as tiny animals and debris, which it then carries to its mouth, which opens on the ventral surface between the snout and the collar.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

ギボシムシ綱(腸鰓（ちようさい）綱)Enteropneustaに属する半索動物の総称。すべて海産で，世界から80種ほどが知られている。体の前端にある吻（ふん）が橋の欄干の擬宝珠に似ているところからこの名がある。海岸の有機質の多い砂泥中にU字形の穴をつくり，その中で生活する。　体は細長い円筒状で，前体部の吻，中体部の襟部とそれより後方の後体部の3部分からなる。吻は卵形や円錐形をしていて，表面に密生している繊毛を動かして微小な動物やごみなどの餌を集め，吻と襟との間の腹面に開く口へ運ぶ。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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