Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
Pacific sea nettles, Chrysaora fuscescens. Cnidaria (/ n ɪ ˈ d ɛər i ə, n aɪ-/ nih-DAIR-ee-ə, NY-) [4] is a phylum under kingdom Animalia containing over 11,000 species [5] of aquatic invertebrates found both in fresh water and marine environments (predominantly the latter), including jellyfish, hydroids, sea anemones, corals and some of the smallest marine parasites.
Many have fluid-filled, hydrostatic skeletons, like jellyfish or worms. Others have hard exoskeletons, outer shells like those of insects and crustaceans. The most familiar invertebrates include the Protozoa, Porifera, Coelenterata, Platyhelminthes, Nematoda, Annelida, Echinodermata, Mollusca and Arthropoda.
Worms (Old English for serpent) typically have long cylindrical tube-like bodies and no limbs. Marine worms vary in size from microscopic to over 1 metre (3.3 ft) in length for some marine polychaete worms (bristle worms) [42] and up to 58 metres (190 ft) for the marine nemertean worm (bootlace worm). [43]
Agnatha (/ ˈ æ ɡ n ə θ ə, æ ɡ ˈ n eɪ θ ə /; [3] from Ancient Greek ἀ-(a-) 'without' and γνάθος (gnáthos) 'jaws') is a paraphyletic infraphylum [4] of non-gnathostome vertebrates, or jawless fish, in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, consisting of both living (cyclostomes) and extinct (conodonts, anaspids, and ostracoderms, among others).
Some species, notably incirrate octopuses, have lost their internal shell altogether, while in some it has been replaced by a chitinous support structure. The major divisions of Coleoidea are based upon the number of arms or tentacles and their structure.
A shed carapace of a lady crab, part of the hard exoskeleton Body structure of a typical crustacean – krill. The body of a crustacean is composed of segments, which are grouped into three regions: the cephalon or head, [5] the pereon or thorax, [6] and the pleon or abdomen. [7]
Cyclostomi, often referred to as Cyclostomata / s ɪ k l oʊ ˈ s t ɒ m ə t ə /, is a group of vertebrates that comprises the living jawless fishes: the lampreys and hagfishes.Both groups have jawless mouths with horny epidermal structures that function as teeth called ceratodontes, and branchial arches that are internally positioned instead of external as in the related jawed fishes. [1]
Chitons have a shell composed of eight separate shell plates or valves. [3] These plates overlap slightly at the front and back edges, and yet articulate well with one another. Because of this, the shell provides protection at the same time as permitting the chiton to flex upward when needed for locomotion over uneven surfaces, and even allows ...