Echinoderms

Echinoderms:EchinodermsSpiny-skinnedSea Star (Starfish)Green Sea UrchinRosy Feather StarEchinoderms are animals with no: brain, eyes, heart, or lungs Water-vascular system

TaxonomyCommon starfishAsterias rubensGreen sea urchinPsammechinus miliarisRosy feather-starAntedon bifidaKingdomAnimaliaAnimaliaAnimaliaPhylumEchinodermataEchinodermataEchinodermataClassAsteroideaEchinoideaCrinoideaOrderForcipulatidaEchinoidaComatulidaFamilyAsteriidaePaechinidaeAntedonidaeGenusAsteriasPsammechinusAntedonSpeciesRubensMiliarisBifidaHabitatDeep seaBrackish waterHalf fresh and half salt waterSubstratumNon-living material where a living organism lives or growsRole in the EcosystemSkin gillsOxygen in Carbon Dioxide out

EatersCarnivorous- meat eaterOmnivorous-both meat and plant eater

Bilateral Symmetry

Radial SymmetryPentamerous Symmetry (Sea stars and Brittle stars)- not immediately obvious at first, but later notice.

Integumentary SystemSpiny-skinnedSkin-gillsSpinesPedicelarias

Skeletal systemCalcareous spinesEndoskeletonCalcareous plates

LocomotionSea Stars and Sea UrchinsWater Vasculatory systemSieve pate (Madreporite)Stone Canal (Careous ring)Ring CanalsRadial CanalsAmpullaTube feetUnisonFeather Stars

Circulatory systemWater vasculatory systemCoelomCiliaGaseous exchange.

Respiratory SystemSkin gillsBetween calcareous platesIngress and egressOxygenCarbon DioxideDiffusioncoelomic fluid carbon dioxide

Digestive & Excretory systemExcretionCoelomic fluidAmeboid cellsNitrogenous wastesSkin gills

Nervous systemRing of nervous tissue: Nerve netSense organsPigmented eyespotResponds to touch

Reproductive systemSex OrgansGonadGonoporeSpawnOvariesTestesSpawn in the sea

Endocrine systemWater Vasculatory SystemStone CanalRadial Canal

Life CycleSpawnFertilizationPhysicochemical changesBlastulaGastrula Ectoderm Inner endodermCoelom

(Continued)Anterior coelomic sac sends a tubular outgrowthCilia lines this tubeLarva is bipinnaria-has bilaterally symmetrical lobes bearing ciliated bandsHuman InteractionThere are some Edible Sea UrchinsEdible PartsRipe EggsCoiled IntestineAn opportunity to document the taphonomic process of Cambrian stalked echinoderms in more detailStudies on Echinoderms provides evidence of volatile organs within gogiids.Interview1. Which animal do you most enjoy studying? Why?

Assuming you are asking me about echinoderms, I would say I have often enjoyed observing sea stars. In 1996-1998 I worked as a naturalist at Marine Worlds aquarium and tide pool exhibit. (Marine World is now 6 Flags.) During an eight hour shift, which was spent answering questions about various species natural history, I had the opportunity to observe sea star mobility. They would be in one location in the wee hours of the morning and be on the other side of the tide pool by the time I left in the late afternoon. I liked watching their delicate tube feet extend and waver. I admire the strength and dexterity of the starfish as it gloms onto a mussel and pries it apart with a surprising viselike grip. What determination!

(Continued)2. Which species of Echinoderms do you find most interesting? Why?

I adore the diversity between sea star specimens. For example, take the rough texture and squatty shape of a bat star versus the silky smoothness and elegant lines of a leather star. The amazing variety of rainbow hues on the sea stars is fascinatingpurple, orange, blue spots, mud-colored, the list goes on and on. I also think it is totally unique that they can regenerate an arm, should one be lost.(Continued)3. Fossil records helped to make Echinoderms become a well-defined and highly derived clad of metazoans. Why, exactly is this extensive amount of fossils significant? The five fold symmetry of a sea star or sea urchin is easily recognizable. Thus, when calcite skeletons are found in strata of limestone, it is easy to determine the echinoderm clad. Therefore, the numerous fossil echinoderms help scientists to see patterns of evolution.(Continued)4. Why are there so many fossils of Echinoderms?The calcite parts are pretty tough and unless the fossil hunter bangs it with a hammer it will survive well as a fossil. However, after an echinoderms demise, its body parts can crumble apart as the musculature disintegrates. Therefore, the best looking fossils are from when the specimen was buried in strata immediately upon death. Complete fossils are rarely found, but as they say seek and ye shall find, and the scientists keep searching.

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(Continued)http://www.personal.kent.edu/~alisonjs/paleo/morph.gifhttp://www.mesa.edu.au/friends/seashores/images/Urchin.jpghttp://higheredbcs.wiley.com/legacy/college/levin/0471697435/chap_tut/images/nw0262-nn.jpghttp://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/EMT668/EMAT6680.2002.Fall/Nazarewicz/7210_final_2/7210_Project/pictures/image3.gifhttp://www.seaotter.com/marine/research/stronglyocentrotus/droebachiensis/pics/droebachiensis.jpghttp://www.sms.si.edu/IRLFieldGuide/images/Urchin.gif