Taxonomy
| Adult species | Larva species |
|---|---|
| Phoronis ovalis | (creeping larva) |
| Phoronis hippocrepia | Actinotrocha hippocrepia |
| Phoronis ijimai, also called Phoronis vancouverensis |
Actinotrocha vancouverensis |
| Phoronis australis | (unknown) |
| Phoronis muelleri | Actinotrocha branchiata |
| Phoronis psammophila | Actinotrocha sabatieri |
| Phoronis pallida | Actinotrocha pallida |
| Phoronopsis albomaculata | (unknown) |
| Phoronopsis harmeri | Actinotrocha harmeri |
| Phoronopsis californica | (unknown) |
The phylum has two genera, with no class or order names. Zoologists have given the larvae, usually called an actinotroch, a separate genus name from the adults.
In 1999 Temereva and Malakhov described Phoronis svetlanae. In 2000 Temereva described a new species, Phoronopsis malakhovi, while Emig regards it as a synonym for Phoronopsis harmeri. Santagata thinks Phoronis architecta is a different species from both Phoronis psammophila and Phoronis muelleri, and that " species diversity is currently underestimated". In 2009 Temereva described what may be larvae of Phoronopsis albomaculata and Phoronopsis californica. She wrote that, while there are 12 undisputed adult phoronid species, 25 morphological types of larvae have been identified.
Read more about this topic: Phoronid