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[[Image:cuttlefish.png|thumb|upright|[[Cuttlefish]] with 2 tentacles and 8 arms]]
In [[zoology]] a '''tentacle''' is a flexible, mobile, elongated [[organ (anatomy)|organ]] present in some species of [[animal]]s, most of them [[invertebrate]]s. In animal anatomy tentacles usually occur in one or more pairs. Anatomically, the tentacles of animals work mainly like [[muscular hydrostat]]s. Most forms of tentacles are used for grasping and feeding. Many are [[Sensory system|sensory organ]]s, variously receptive to [[somatosensory system|touch]], [[visual perception|vision]], or to the smell or taste of particular [[Chemoreceptor|foods or threats]]. Examples of such tentacles are the tentacles or "eye stalks" of various kinds of [[snail]]s. Some kinds of tentacles have both sensory and manipulatory functions.
The word '''tentillum''' literally means "little tentacle". However, irrespective of size, it usually refers to a side branch of a larger tentacle. In some cases such tentilla are specialised for particular functions; for example, in the [[Cnidaria]] tentilla usually bear [[cnidocyte]]s,<ref>[http://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=zsao&selected=definitie&menuentry=woordenlijst&record=tentilla Marine Species Identification Portal : Zooplankton of the South Atlantic Ocean : Glossary : tentilla]. Species-identification.org. Retrieved on 2013-05-02.</ref> whereas in the [[Ctenophora]] they usually bear [[collocyte]]s.<ref name="CNH1">Harmer, Sir Sidney Frederic; Shipley, Arthur Everett et al. (1906) ''The Cambridge natural history Volume 1, Protozoa, Porifera, Coelenterata, Ctenophora, Echinodermata''. Macmillan Company.</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Mackie G.O., Mills C.E., Singla C.L.|title= Structure and function of the prehensile tentilla of ''Euplokamis'' (Ctenophora, Cydippida)|doi=10.1007/BF00312216|url=http://faculty.washington.edu/cemills/EuplokamisTentacle1988.pdf|year=1988|journal=Zoomorphology|volume=107|issue=6|pages=319}}</ref>
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