nemertea

pl. [Lat., ., nemert (es); neut. pl. adj. suff.-ea.] Zool.: A subdivision of worms, mostly marine, with ciliated skin, a retractile proboscis, and simple generative organs. They are ribbon-shaped animals, more or le cylindrical in section. There are no exterior appendages of any kind, and their colors are often bright and varied. Formerly ar ranged among Platelminthes, in the order Turbellaria, and made a sub-order Nemertida, Nemertina, or Rhynchocœla. They are now made a phylum of Platelminthes with three sub-orders: HoploSchizo-, and Palæonemertea. ( Prof. Hubrecht , in Encyc. Brit . , xvii. 326.)