Echi
Echi is a term often used to refer to spoon worms, the marine annelids known collectively as Echiura. They inhabit soft marine sediments worldwide, from shallow coastal zones to deep seas. Spoon worms have an elongated, sausage-like body and a large, everted proboscis that they extend to explore sediment and collect organic material. Feeding is typically deposit- or detritus-based, with the proboscis drawing food particles toward the mouth.
Taxonomy and evolution: Echiura has long been treated as its own phylum, but most contemporary classifications
Ecology: They are primarily benthic burrowers; many species live in U-shaped burrows within soft sediments. They
Life cycle: Reproduction is usually sexual, with external fertilization. Larval development often resembles trochophore stages seen
Notable species and human use: Urechis caupo, the fat innkeeper worm, occurs on the Pacific coast of
In cuisine: Some spoon worms are consumed as seafood in East Asia, prepared fresh or preserved.
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