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General Zoology
General Zoology
General Zoology
ANNELIDA
- SEGMENTED WORMS
Introduction
The name of the phylum is derived from the Latin word annellus, which means a small ring.
Phylum Annelida includes segmented worms.
They are found in marine, terrestrial, and freshwater habitats, but a presence of water or humidity
is a critical factor for their survival, especially in terrestrial habitats.
Animals in this phylum show parasitic and commensal symbioses with other species in their
habitat.
Elongate and bilateral with segmented true body cavity
ANNELIDA CHARACTERISTICS
The Annelids are coelomate and triploblastic.
They exhibit organ system level organization.
Their body is segmented.
They respire through their body surface.
Nephridia are the excretory organs.
They have a well-developed circulatory and digestive system.
Their body contains hemoglobin, which gives them a red color.
Regeneration is a very common characteristic of the Annelids.
Setae help them in movement.
Most of the Annelids are hermaphrodite, i.e., male and female organs are present in the same
body. They reproduce both sexually and asexually. The others reproduce sexually.
Structure of Phylum
Annelida
a body cavity (or coelom),
movable bristles (or setae),
and a body divided into
segments by transverse rings,
or annulations, from which they
take their name.
Reproduction
They generally reproduce sexually by cross-
fertilization and are often hermaphroditic,
but many reproduce asexually by budding.
In some species, the same
individual produces both sperm and eggs. But
worms mate to exchange sperm, rather
than self-fertilizing their own eggs. Fertilized
eggs are deposited in a mucous cocoon.
Offspring emerge from the cocoon looking like
small adults. They grow to adult size without
going through a larval stage.
ANNELIDA CLASSIFICATIONS
Since the organism is long, brown and bilaterally symmetrical, with a
segmented body, it can be classified under phylum Annelida. The
distinguishing characteristic is the segmented body. And Annelids also live
in moist terrestrial areas.
Class:
Polychaeta
- Polychaeta is a paraphyletic class of generally marine annelid worms,
commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes.
Archiannelida
- minute annelids that live in the spaces between grains of
marine sediment, were treated as a separate class because of their
simple body structure, but are now regarded as polychaetes.
Clitellates
- These have few or no chetae per segment, and no nuchal organs or
parapodia. However, they have a unique reproductive organ, the ring-
shaped clitellum ("pack saddle") around their bodies, which produces a
cocoon that stores and nourishes fertilized eggs until they hatch [10][12] or, in
moniligastrids, yolky eggs that provide nutrition for the embryos.
The clitellates are sub-divided into:
Oligochaeta
- Oligochaeta is a subclass of animals in the phylum Annelida, which is
made up of many types of aquatic and terrestrial worms, including all of the
various earthworms.
Hirudenia
- Leeches are segmented parasitic or predatory worms that comprise the
subclass Hirudinea within the phylum Annelida. They are closely related to the
oligochaetes, which include the earthworm, and like them have soft, muscular
segmented bodies that can lengthen and contract.
IMPORTANCE :
Burrowing annelids, like the earthworm, play an important role in helping
organic matter decompose. Earthworms eat dead plants and animals. When
they eat, they also take in soil and tiny pebbles. Earthworms take in nutrients
from microorganisms in the material they ingest.
They are a source of food for many birds, mammals, and other
invertebrates. Other annelids, such as the lugworms of the class Polychaetae,
contribute to human food sources as well. We use these species as bait to catch
fish.
Earthworm
Kingdom: Animalia
Class: Oligochaeta
Scientific Name: Lumbricus terrestris
Common Name: Earthworm
Habitat: moist soil and dead plant
material.
Earthworms for Medicine
Earthworms are used in a variety of ways and utilized
to treat a number of diseases, such as bladder stones,
jaundice, and alopecia
References:
Potenza, Nicoletta
del Gaudio, Rosanna
Rivieccio, Loredana
Russo, Giuseppina Maria Rosaria
Geraci, Giuseppe
Argen A. Chavenia
Janine Lara