The rotifers (/ˈroʊtɪfərz/, from the Latin rota, "wheel", and -fer, "bearing"), commonly called wheel animals or wheel animalcules, make up a phylum (Rotifera /roʊˈtɪfərə/) of microscopic and near-microscopic pseudocoelomate animals. They were first described by Rev. John Harris in 1696, and other forms were described by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek in 1703. Most rotifers are around 0.1–0.5 mm (0.0039–0.0197 in) long (although their size can range from 50 μm (0.0020 in) to over 2 mm (0.079 in)), and are common in freshwater environments throughout the world with a few saltwater species.