THE MUSCULAR SYSTEM OF

INVERTEBRATES
The Muscular System of Invertebrates

- A few functional differences among invertebrates muscle

indicate some of difference from the vertebrates skeletal
muscle.
 In arthropods, at least two motor nerves innervate a
typical muscle fiber.
One motor nerve fiber cause a fast contraction and
slow contraction
Another Variation occurs in certain insect such as;
Bees
Wasps
Flight muscle
Flies
Beetles

Asynchronous Muscle are muscles in which there is no one-to-one relationship between electrical
stimulation and mechanical contraction.
 There are two types of invertebrates locomotion that
involve muscular system:

Locomotion of Soft- Bodied Invertebrates

Terrestrial locomotion of Invertebrates

Locomotion- It is the movement of the body specialized
parts of the body to generate propulsive forces on land,
water and air.
 Pedal Locomotion
-can mover a firm substratum
Ex. Flatworm, Cnidarians, Gastropod, Mollusks
Flatworm
- Most nemertine worms exhibit a muscular component to their
locomotion. This type of movement , alternating waves of contraction of
circular and longitudinal muscle generate peristaltic waves, which enhance
the locomotion that the surface cilia also provide.
 Leeches and some insect larvae exhibit Looping
Movements. Leeches have anterior and posterior sucker
that provide alternating temporary points of attachment.
Phylum Cnidarian

-Cnidarians means “Stinging Creature”

- Radial Symmetry
- Mouth at oral surrounded by
tentacles
-Nerve net
-Still no circulatory or respiratory systems
-Two different body form exist

Polyps have tubular with a mouth at one end surrounded by tentacles.

Medusa are usually free swimming and have bell- shaped or umbrella –shaped bodies.
 Cnidarian life Cycle

;This figure shows alternation between Medusa and Polyp body form.
Gastropods

- Open circulatory – blood flows

through vessels, open space within
body.
- Largest group of mollusks
- They have either 1 outer shell or no shell
- They can be herbivore or carnivore
- They move slowly with a foot
Ex. Slug and Snails
Mollusks
-Mollusca is the second largest phylum of invertebrate animals. Mollusks are members
of the invertebrate phylum Mollusca and contain more than 100,000 species.
Some mollusks have shells like clams and snails, while larger mollusks have no bones
at all like the cuttlefish, squid and octopus.

Cuttlefish
Terrestrial Locomotion in Invertebrates
Terrestrial locomotion, any of several forms of animal movement such as walking and flight,
jumping (saltation) and crawling . In which the body is carried well off the surface on which the animal
is moving (substrate), it also has evolved as animals adapted from aquatic.

Walking
- When walking most insect use a triangle of legs involving the first and last leg .
- Has flexible joins, tendons, and muscle that attach rigid skeletal cuticle and form
limbs
- The walking limbs of the of the highly evolved arthropods Crustacea, Chelicerata, and
Uniramia.
Example: Arthropods
-Crabs :sideward
-Lobster, spider: forward
-Water strider : are able to walk on the surface of water
crab
Water Stride
- Cohesion of water molecules at the surface of the
body of water.
- All the water molecules on the surface of the water
are ‘Holding’ each other together or creating surface
tension
- Surface tension allows water striders to ‘skate’ across
across the top of a pond.
Flight
- It
is the muscle changing the shape of the thorax cause wings move up and
down.
Jumping
- Some insects fleas, grasshopper and leafhopper can jump. Most often this
is escape reaction. To jump an insect must exert a force against the ground
sufficient to impact a takeoff velocity greater than weight.
 THE
END…