It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.
Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.
Thank you.
Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.
The Wheel Animalcules, a microscopic creature found in water and with a hard enough make up to also survive in the upper atmosphere. Rotifers are among the more bizarre animals found on this planet. They are small, being only slightly larger than a protozoan, and are typically too small to be seen without a microscope. They range from 0.1 to 1 mm in length. In most animals, growth is obtained by an increasing number of cells. This is not the case in rotifers; their cells just get bigger, so that the number of cells in their body remains constant. Despite their size, rotifers have a complex anatomy. The body can be divided into three main sections: a head, a trunk, and a foot. The head contains the corona, which in turn contains cilia. The cilia are arranged in a circle and beat one after the other, giving the appearance of a rotating wheel, and is where the term "rotifer" originated. The trunk is the main part of the body, and is protected by a stiffened armour known as the lorica. The lorica can be divided into plates or rings, with each plate or ring containing spines, ridges, etc. The last section, the foot, ends in contractile toes, which allow the rotifer to attach itself to objects such as plants. Some species secrete an adhesive to keep them anchored in place.