any of three phyla of aquatic invertebrate animals that possess a lophophore, a fan of ciliated (cilium) tentacles around the mouth. Movements of the cilia create currents of water that carry food particles toward the mouth. The lophophorates include the moss animals (phylum Bryozoa), lamp shells (phylum Brachiopoda), and phoronid worms (phylum Phoronida). The phyla are no longer thought to be closely related to each other.