Echinodermata

Echinos – spiny derma – skin ata – group

KPM
Echinodermata
• One of the most beautiful and most familiar sea creatures
• Sea stars have become symbol of sea life
History
• Echinoderms are known since ancient times
• Term ‘Echinodermata’ was coined by Jacob Klein (1734)
• Previously, it was included in class Radiata along with Coelenterata
due to its radial symmetry
• It was Leukart (1847) who recognized it as a separate group
General Characters
• Echinoderms are exclusively marine, free living, non-colonial coelomates, either
free swimming or attached to surface (sessile or stalked)
• Bottom dwellers (benthos) and are among the most abundant elements of the
fauna of the sea floor
• Triploblastic, organ system level of organization, true coelomate and radially
symmetrical, often pentamerous (larva – bilateral symmetry)
• Body form: unsegmented with –
Globular (Sea urchin)
Cylindrical (Sea cucumber)
Star shaped (Star fish) or
Flower like (Feather star)
• Head: Absent, body has oral and aboral surface
• Skeleton: Body externally bears calcareous spicules on body surface and
internally bears moveable or immoveable mesodermal endoskeleton of
calcareous plates beneath skin. Epidermis is ciliated.
Larva – bilateral symmetrical

Adult - radially symmetrical

Globular
(Sea urchin),

Cylindrical
(Sea -
cucumber)

Star shaped
(Ophioderma)

Flower like
(Feather star)
• Coelom is enterocoelous typed filled with coelomic fluid contains
amoeboid cells called coelomocytes
• Coelom is divided into different compartments like perivisceral
coelom, perihaemal space, genital sinus and hydrocoel
• Consists of water vascular system in an internal close system of
reservoirs and ducts containing a watery fluid. Water enters through
sieve like madreporite and circulate throughout the body
• Locomotion by tube feet
• Digestive system consists of digestive canal lined by endoderm,
running from mouth to anus (Brittle star lacks anus)
• Respiration system: Occurs through dermal branchia or papule in star
fish. Peristomial gills in Sea urchins and Cloacal respiratory trees in
Sea cucumbers.
Locomotion by tube feet
 Peristomial gills in Sea urchins

Cloacal respiratory trees in Sea

cucumbers
• Vascular system and haemal system, enclosed in coelomic perihaemal
channels
• No definite excretory organs (Ammoniotelic)
• Nervous system is formed of oral ring and radial nerves. Special sense
organs are poorly developed. Sense organ includes tactile organs,
chemo-receptors, terminal tentacles and statocysts
• Usually dioecious, gonads large and single or multiple.
• Fertilization external
• Development – indirect with various types of free swimming larvae
• Power of regeneration of lost body parts
 Power of regeneration of lost body parts

Nervous system is formed of oral ring and

radial nerves
Unique features
• Larva – bilateral symmetry
• Adult – radial symmetry
• Body has oral and aboral surface
• Mesodermal endoskeleton
• Modification of a part of coelom
in to water vascular system
• Characteristic tube feet for
locomotion
Degenerated features
• Lack of head Confused ?????
So previously, it was included in
• Reduced circulatory system class Radiata along with
• Absence od excretory organs Coelenterata

• Simple sense organs

• Incomplete alimentary canal
in some forms (absent of
anus)
Classification
• Mainly on the basis of mode of life; either free swimming or stalked
• Further classified on the basis of number and types of arms
• Two Sub-phyla
1) Eleutherozoa
2) Pelmatozoa
Sub-phylum: Elutherozoa
• Elutheros: Free Zois: animal
• Free swimming animals with distinct oral and aboral surface
• Mouth on the oral surface which is downward
• Anus on aboral surface which is upward
• Radial ambulacral system present
• Tube feet arranged in double series with suckers and mainly for
locomotion
• Main nervous system is oral
• Include 4 classes
 Subphylum: Eleutherozoa

Asteroidea Ophiuroidea Echinoidea Holothuroidea

Bothriocidaroida

Regularia
Phanerozonia Ophiurae
Lepidocentroidea Dendrochirota

Spinulosa Euryalae Cidaroidea Aspidochirota

Forcipulataa Aluodonta
Elasipoda
Camarodonta
Molpadonia
Irregularia
Synaptida
Clypeastroida Spatangoidea or Apoda
Class 1: Asteroidea (Aster- Star, Eides – form)
• Commonly known as star fish or sea star
• Body flattened and star shaped with a central disc
• Five radiating arms not sharply marked off from the central disc
• Arms hollow with ambulacral groove, gonads, gut, coelom and other
visceral organs
• Tube feet with suckers present on orally placed ambulacral grooves
• Anus small, inconspicuous located eccentrically on aboral surface
• Pedicellariae present
• Madreporite aboral
Order 1: Phanerozonia
• Arms provided with 2 rows of marginal plates
• Papillae only on aboral surface
• Pedicellariae generally sessile
• Tube feet with or without suckers
• E.g. Pentaceros, Astropecten
Order 2: Spinulosa
• Arms generally without marginal plates
• Papullae on both surfaces
• Pedicellariae rare
• Tube feet with suckers and are in two rows
• Aboral surface with low spines
• E.g. Asterina, Solaster, Echinaster
Order 3: Forcipulata
• Marginal plates are inconspicuous (unremarkable) or absent
• Pedicellariae pedunculate (stalked) and straight or crossed type
• 4 rows of tube feet with suckers
• Aboral surface with conspicuous spines
• E.g. Asterias, Heliaster
Class 2: Opiuroidea (Ophis – snake, oura – tail, eidos – form)
• Commonly called Bristle star
• Body flattened with pentamerous orc rounded central disc
• Arms usually 5, sharply marked off from the central disc
• Mouth and madreporite on oral surface
• Intestine and anus absent
• Pedicellaria absent
• Ambulacral groove absent and covered by …….
Order 1: Ophiurae
• Bristle and serpent stars
• Small and five armed
• Arms move transversely
• Disc and arms covered with scales or shields
• Single Madreporite
• Spines directed outward
• E.g. Ophiothrix, Ophiura, Ophioderma
Order 2: Euryalae
• Arms simple or branched
• Arms move vertically
• Disc and arm covered by soft skin
• One madreporite on each inter-radius
• Spines directed downwards
• E.g. Asteronyx, Asterphyton,
Gorgonocephalus (Basket star)
Class 3: Echinoidea (Echinos – hedgehog, eides – forms)
• Commonly called sea urchins or sand dollars
• Body spherical, disc like, oval or heart shaped without arm
• Body enclosed in an endoskeleton shell or test of closely fitted calcareous
plate with moveable spines
• 3- jawed pedicellaria present and stalked
• Tube feet with suckers
• Oral surface bears a mouth. The mouth is fitted with a characteristic biting
and chewing apparatus called Aristotle’s laterns
• Ambulacral groove absent
• Free swimming Echinopluteus larva
Class: Echinoidea has 3 Sub-Classes
Sub-Class 1: Bothriocidaroida
Sub-Class 2: Regularia
Sub-Class 3: Irregularia

Sub-Class 1: Bothriocidaroida
• Each-ambulacral is with single row of plates
• Madreporite radially placed
• Typical Aristotle’s lantern absent
• No Order, but a single genus (extinct), i.e. Bathriocidaris
Sub-Class 2: Regularia
• Body globular, pentamerous with 2 rows of inter-ambulacral
plates
• Mouth central
• Aristotle’s lantern well developed
• Anus central on aboral surface with well developed apical plates
Order 1: Lepidocentroidea
• Test flexible with overlapping plates
• Ambulacral plates extend up to mouth lips
• Eg. Phormosoma, Sperosoma
Order 2: Cidaroidea
• Test globular and rigid
• 2 rows of long narrow ambulacral plates and 2 rows of inter-
ambulacral plates
• No peristomal gills
• Anus aboral and central
• Eg. Histocidaris, Goniocidaris
Histocidaris
Order 3: Aulodonta
• Text is globular and radially symmetrical
• Two rows of long narrow ambulacral plates and
two rows inter-ambulacral plates are present,
both types of plate reach up to margin of
peristome
• Gills and sphaeridia are present
• Keel is absent in teeth of Aristotle’s lantern
• Eg. Diodema, Astropyga
Order 4: Camarodonta
• Test globular with compound ambulacral plates
• Teeth are keeled
• All four types of pedicellariae are present
• Peristomal gills present
• Eg. Echinus, Strogylocentrotus
Sub-Class 3: Irregularia
• Body oval or circular, flattened oral-aborally
• Bilaterally symmetrical
• Mouth centrally placed
• Anus marginal, outside the apical system of plates
• Tube feet generally not locomotory
Order 1: Clypeasteroida (Sand dollars)
• Test flattened with oval or rounded shape
• Aristotle’s lantern present
• Gills present
• Bottom dwellers
• Eg. Clypeaster (Sand dollars), Echinocyamus
Order 2: Spatangoida (Heart urchin)
• Test oval or heart shaped
• Aristotle’s lantern absent
• Gills absent
• Burrowing
• Eg. Spatangus (Heart Urchin),
Echinocardium
Class 4: Holothuroidea
• Sea cucumber
• No arms, no spines
• Body laterally symmetrical
• Elongate on oral-aboral axis
• Body wall leathery
• Mouth anterior, surrounded by tentacles
• Endoskeleton reduced into spicules
• Ambulacral groove concealed (buried)
• Tube feet with suckers and locomotory
• Usually with cloacal respiratory tree for respiration
• Auricularia or doliolaria larva
 Class: Holothuroidea has 5 Orders
Order 1: Dendrochrota
• Oral tentacles dendritic or irregularly
branched
• Tube feet numerous
• Respiratory tree present
• Eg. Cucumaria (Sea cucumber), Thyone

Order 2: Aspidochirota
• Tentacles leaf like
• Tube feet numerous
• Respiratory tree present
• Eg. Holothuria, Mesothuria, Actinopyga
Order 3: Elasipoda
• Tentacles leaf like
• Tube feet few and webbed together
to form fins
• No respiratory tree
• Deep sea dwellers
• Eg. Pelagothuria, Elpidia

Order 4: Molpadonia
• 15vdigitate tentacles
• No tube feet
• Respiratory tree present
• Eg. Molpodia, Caudina (sweet potato
sea cucumber)
Order 5: Synaptida or Apoda
• 10-20 digitate or pinnate tentacles
• No tube feet
• No respiratory tree
• Worm like sea cucumber and
burrowing
• Eg. Synapta, Leptosynapta
Sub-Phylum: Pelmatozoa
• Mostly extinct echinoderms
• Body is attached to substratum by aboral stalk
• Mouth and anal aperture on oral surface facing upward
• Tube feet devoid of suckers and used for food gathering
• Main nervous system is aboral
• Doliolaria larva
• Only one living class
Class 1: Crinoidea (Crinon – lily, eidos – form)
• Sea lily, feather star
• Without stalk
• Body pentamerous with oral surface upwards and aboral surface
downward
• Mouth usually central, anus eccentric
• Arms long, slender and moveable, generally bifurcated, 5-10 in
number
• No madreporite, spines and pedicellaria
• Single order (ie. Articulata)
 Order 1: Articulata
• Living sea lilies and sea feathers
• Non-sessile and free swimming
• Mouth and ambulacral groove exposed
• Eg. Antedon (Sea lily), Neometra (Feather star)