Vestimentifera

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Vestimentifera A phylum of animals, described in 1985 by M. L. Jones, that contains some species of large worms which had previously been assigned to the Pogonophora. They differ from Pogonophora mainly in the detailed structure of the coelomic cavities (see COELOM) and the presence of metanephridia instead of protonephridia (see NEPHRIDIUM). They live near hydrothermal vents, mainly in the eastern Pacific. It has recently been proposed (by Greg Rouse and Kristian Fauchald) that Vestimentifera and Pogonophora are genuinely related and that both are actually specialized members of the Polychaeta.

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