Editing Loricifera (section)

==Morphology==
The animals have a head, mouth, and digestive system, as well as the lorica. The head (which contains the mouth and the brain), a trunk region surrounded by six plates that make up the 'lorica' or corselet and – in between these two – the neck region. Loricifera have a well developed brain and each scalid is individually connected to the brain by nerves.
The armor-like lorica consists of a protective external shell or case of encircling plicae.<ref name=Heiner-Sorensen-Kristensen-2004/> There is no circulatory system and no endocrine system. Many of the larvae are [[acoelomate]], with some adults being [[pseudocoelomate]], and some remaining acoelomate.<ref name=Kristensen-2002/> Development is generally direct, though there are so-called [[Higgins larva]]e, which differ from adults in several respects. As adults, the animals are [[Gonochorism|gonochoric]]. Very complex and plastic [[Biological life cycle|life cycles]] of pliciloricids include also [[paedogenesis|paedogenetic]] stages with different forms of [[parthenogenesis|parthenogenetic]] reproduction. Most Loricifera are dioecious, meaning there are males and females. However, there are a few species known to be hermaphroditic, which means they contain both male and female reproductive organs.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Schmidt-Rhaesa |first1=Andreas |title=Gastrotricha, Cycloneuralia, and Gnathifera |date=2013 |isbn=978-3-11-021938-8 |page=362}}</ref><ref name=Gad-2005/> Fossils have been dated to the late Cambrian.<ref name=SciDaily-2017-01/>