rhabdite

{{short description|Structures in some cells of turbellarians and nemerteans}}

{{about||the mineral|Schreibersite|the genus of orthocerids|Rhabdites}}

Rhabdites (from Greek, rhabdos, rod) are rodlike structures in the cells of the epidermis or underlying parenchyma in certain turbellarians, and in the epidermis of nemerteans.{{cite book |last1=Walker |first1=J.C. |last2=Anderson |first2=D.T. |editor=D.T. Anderson |title=Invertebrate Zoology |edition=1 |year=1998 |publisher=Oxford University Press Australia |isbn=0-19-553941-9 |pages=79–85 |chapter=The Platyhelminthes, Nemertea, Entoprocta and Gnathostomulida}} They are discharged in mucous secretions. They are a defensive mechanism, which dissolve in water, and they are distasteful to most animals who would prey on rhabditid worms. In nemerteans, rhabdites form mucus on which the animals glide.{{cite journal |last=Martin |first=Gary G. |year=1978 |title=A New Function of Rhabdites: Mucus Production for Ciliary Gliding |journal=Zoomorphology |publisher=Springer-Verlag |volume=91 |issue=3 |pages=235–248 |doi=10.1007/BF00999813 |s2cid=206787592 }}