Introduction: The Lophophore is a characteristic feeding organ possessed by four major groups of animals: the Brachiopod, Bryozoan, Entoprocts, and Phoronida, which collectively constituted the Lophophorata. [1] All Lophophore are found in aquatic organisms The Lophophore can most easily be described as a ring of tentacles, but is often horseshoe-shaped or coiled. Why do we call the tentacles a Lophophore? Because the tentacles have several distinctive characteristics that differentiate them from the tentacles of other animals. The tentacles are hollow. Hollow cavities in the bodies of animals (except for the gut) are called coeloms: the hollow cavity in the Lophophore is the second of the three divisions of the coelom in the entire body. The mouth is always inside the Lophophore ring of tentacles the Lophophore tentacles are covered with cilia (hair) they are responsible for generating a current of water that flows toward the mouth. These distinctive characters make the Lophophore a complex structure. Since it is complex, the possibility that it evolved independently in three separate groups of animals is low. Therefore, one can form a hypothesis that the last common ancestor of brachiopods, bryozoans and Phoronida also had a Lophophore. Brachiopod: One organism that is a part of the Lophophore is the brachiopod. Brachiopods are marine animals that look like claims. Actually they are quite different from claims in their anatomy, related to the bryozoan and phoronida.Brachiopods is very rare in the seas. They often make their homes in very cold water, either in Polar Regions or at great depths in the ocean, and are not often encountered. There are about 300 living species of brachiopods.250 million years ago; they were in the wo... ... middle of paper ... ... and seas including the Arctic Ocean but excluding the Antarctic Ocean, and between the intertidal zone and about 400 meters down.The bottom end of the body is an ampulla (a flask-like swelling), which anchors the animal in the tube and enables it to retract its body very quickly when threatened.A blood vessel leads up the middle of the body from the stomach to a circular vessel at the base of the lophophore, and from there a single blind vessel runs up each tentacle. A pair of blood vessels near the body wall lead downward from the lophophore ring to the stomach and also to blind branches throughout the body. There is no heart, but the major vessels can contract in waves to move the blood. Phoronids usually have a length of 2 cm. It eats along with the lophophore and it lives in the seas. It lived in the early Jurassic.(scientific name- Phoronida)
Tigriopus californicus is an amazing little marine crustacean that is classified as a Harpactacoid copepod. Harpactacoid meaning it’s class, and copepod meaning its order.
One hundred and fifty million years ago, large aquatic species of reptile such as the Plesiosaur dominated the ocean, and were pre-eminent predators of the sea. The branch of now extinct Plesiosaurs, or ‘near lizards’, evolved into variant closely related species specialised to take different niches in the food chain. Such species of Plesiosaur include the phenotypically similar Plesiosauroid and Pliosauroid. The physiological adaptations of the long necked variant, the Plesiosauroid, as it relates to deep sea diving, will be addressed in depth.
The outer tentacles probe for a potential meal, then the inner sensors decide if the prey is edible. They are covered in thick, blackish-brown, water-repellent fur, and have large scaled feet and a long, thick tail. This animal is by far one of the most interesting animals in the world, despite looking like a cross between a rat and an octopus. The way it behaves and utilizes its star nose is fascinating and makes it very unique when compared to other animals.
Although the Hippocampus spp. are placed into the same class as other organisms more traditionally viewed as fish, their morphology bears distinct differences in comparison to other bony fish. The various species belonging under the genus Hippocampus range in maximum size from 20 mm to 300 mm(Foster 8). Their physical appearance is distinct from other members of its class due to their "horse-like head, monkey-like tail, and kangaroo-like pouch."( Lourie et al 12) Morphologically, seahorses do not have scales like traditional fish, but rather posses bony plates covered by skin. The appearance of bony extrusions and skin ...
Imagine a creature that has a skeleton on the outside of its body, that has eyes that protrude on stalks, and whose blood doesn't flow through blood vessels but, instead, pools and surrounds body tissues. What is this monstrous creature? What if I were to tell you this isn't a monster, but something you've probably seen and maybe even eaten?! Yep, this strange creature is a __crustacean__! There are over 50,000 species of crustacean and they come in all shapes and sizes, from an ocean-dwelling crab to an immobile barnacle! But before we delve into the types of crustaceans, let's take a moment to go over the characteristics and anatomy they share.
Fox, R. 2001. Invertebrate Anatomy OnLine: Artemia Franciscana. Lander University. http://webs.lander.edu/rsfox/invertebrates/artemia.html, retrieved February 13, 2011.
The outer layer of a reef consists of living animals, or polyps, of coral. Single-celled algae called zooxanthellae live within the coral polyps, and a skeleton containing filamentous green algae surrounds them. The photosynthetic zooxanthellae and green algae transfer food energy directly to the coral polyps, while acquiring scarce nutrients from the coral. The numerous micro habitats of coral reefs and the high biological productivity support a great diversity of other life.
Acanthostega had a fish-like tail and gills for breathing under water, this being the aquatic part of it. But at the ends of the arms were “peddle-shaped” appendages, thought to be the first “hands” on Earth. Clack’s discovery proved that some fish had arms and legs in the water. It showed that arms and legs were already evolved before organisms started actually living on land, they were used more for survival than walking. In a sense, the “blueprints” of an arm were already in place.
When it comes to choosing a mate, it is very difficult and can take a lot of energy to find a mate due to the habitat. The only useful physiology part of the male is his reproductive system, because of this if he does not find and latch onto a female he will die (Gagnon 2015, National Geographic). Because there is not a lot of light that is able to shine down to the depths of the anglerfish they must rely on specialized sensory organs to help them find their mate. Because it is extremely important for the male to find a mate, his sense of smell is heightened to help him smell chemical hormones that the females release in order (Gagnon 2015). When the male is lucky enough to find a female, he uses his teeth and latches on his
Soft corals are grouped in the phylum Cnidaria, class Anthozoa, and order Alcyonacea. Their distinguishing characteristic is that their polyps always bear eight tentacles which are on both edges fringed by rows of pinnules (Fabricius and De’ath, 2002). The common name “soft coral” comes from the fact that they have no massive external skeleton as compared to the more commonly studied hard corals.
Lope de Vega was born November 25, 1562. He died on August 27, 1635 he was 72. Nicknamed “The Phoenix of Wits” and “Master of Nature” because of the volume of his work. Lope renewed the Spanish theatre at a time it started to become a mass cultural phenomenon. He was a Spanish play right, poet, novelist, and marine.
The eye is an extremely diverse organ, ranging in complexity across and within animal phyla. Here, a comparative approach is taken to outlining the diversity of the eye forms within vertebrates and invertebrates. The eye morphology of a variety of organisms was examined. Eye function, and placement on the body was also considered. Here, variation in eye form is discussed in relation to the environment the organism is adapted to. It is shown that an organisms eye morphology functions optimally for the ecological niche it occupies. Evolutionary analysis is used to account for the emergence of the different eyes. Convergent evolution is used to justify the similarities in eye types seen in organisms of different species. This analysis begins with the simplest of eye forms composes of single cells, present in the zooplankton larvae. Such primitive forms are identified in mollucs, annelids, cnidarians, and are then compared to more advanced eye forms contain lenses. This comparative approach provides a breadth of examples of vertebrates and invertebrates, making visible, the diversity of eye morphology within the animal kingdom.
Crustacea is a large subphylum of Arthropoda, consisting of almost 52 000 described species, including animals like crabs, lobsters, shrimp and barnacles. The majority of these are aquatic, living in marine or fresh water environments, though some have adapted to living on land like some crabs and woodlice. Most crustaceans are relatively small, though there are some exceptions. All of them have a hard, strong exoskeleton, divided into two parts, which has to be shed in order to allow the animal itself to grow. They have a large circulation system, where blood is pumped around the body by the heart. Only some crustaceans have sexes separate, and those that are usually mate seasonally and lay eggs. The study of Crustacea is called carcinology.
First of all, an octopus is a cellapod. Which means it has a soft body, and no bones. An octopus also has eight arms, large useful eyes, and suction cups. ( Octopuses and Squid, page 6 by: Tori Miller.) All of these traits are mostly used for hunting. Eight arms come in handy when your prey is fast and can get away easily, large eyes are useful when you need to see in the dark or the depths of the ocean, and suction cups are used when they need to grab hold of something.( Octopuses Squid, page 14.) ( National Geographic, Octopus Facts.) Octopuses have blue blood caused by copper and bag like bodies. When born they're 1/4 of an inch and don't rely on...