Z250 - Lec34 Outline- ECHINODERMATA III (2009)

Zoology 250 (2009)

ECHINODERMATA (III):
Feeding, locomotion, development

(Echinoderm study images;
click on tree to see full cladogram)

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1) Particle feeding is believed to be the primitive mode in echinoderms; the ancestral use of podia (tube feet) was for feeding not locomotion!
2) Some groups feed on larger items
3) Primitive crinoids were sessile, with jointed cirri on a long stalk; remaining echinoderms move in a great variety of ways:
4) Respiration and excretion: all use skin and podia; some have other structures; a lack of excretory structures precludes life in fresh water
5) Most possess a tissue with odd abilities: mutable collagenous tissue
6) All have spectacular ability to regenerate body parts; some sea cucumbers can eviscerate; some shoot Cuverian tubules if attacked
7) Sexes are separate and fertilization is typically external

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