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Amphiura Chiajei
''Amphiura chiajei'' is a species of brittle star belonging to the family Amphiuridae. It is found in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean and adjoining seas to a depth of . It digs itself into the soft sediment of the seabed and raises its arms into the water above to suspension feed on plankton. It was first described by the British naturalist Edward Forbes in 1843, and was named for the Italian zoologist Stefano Delle Chiaje (1794–1860). Description ''Amphiura chiajei'' has a central disc and five slender arms and is pinkish or greyish brown. The disc is up to in diameter and the arms up to long. The dorsal surface of the disc is covered with scales, larger in the middle and smaller towards the margin. There are a pair of separate radial shields near the attachment of each of the arms. The arms are elongated and are composed of many segments with joints between them, each segment bearing four to six pairs of conical spines. Distribution and habitat ''Amphiura chiajei'' i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edward Forbes
Edward Forbes FRS, FGS (12 February 1815 – 18 November 1854) was a Manx naturalist. In 1846, he proposed that the distributions of montane plants and animals had been compressed downslope, and some oceanic islands connected to the mainland, during the recent ice age. This mechanism, which was the first natural explanation to explain the distributions of the same species on now-isolated islands and mountain tops, was discovered independently by Charles Darwin, who credited Forbes with the idea. He also incorrectly deduced the so-called azoic hypothesis, that life under the sea would decline to the point that no life forms could exist below a certain depth. Early years Forbes was born at Douglas on the Isle of Man. His father was a well-to-do banker. As a child, Forbes was very interested in collecting insects, shells, minerals, fossils, and plants. Due to poor health, he was unable to attend school from his 5th through his 11th years. In 1828, he started attending the Ath ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brittle Star
Brittle stars, serpent stars, or ophiuroids (; ; referring to the serpent-like arms of the brittle star) are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea, closely related to starfish. They crawl across the sea floor using their flexible arms for locomotion. The ophiuroids generally have five long, slender, whip-like arms which may reach up to in length on the largest specimens. The Ophiuroidea contain two large clades, Ophiurida (brittle stars) and Euryalida (basket stars). Over 2,000 species of brittle stars live today. More than 1,200 of these species are found in deep waters, greater than 200 m deep. Range The ophiuroids diverged in the Early Ordovician, about 500 million years ago. Ophiuroids can be found today in all of the major marine provinces, from the poles to the tropics. Basket stars are usually confined to the deeper parts of this range; Ophiuroids are known even from abyssal (>6,000 m) depths. However, brittle stars are also common members of reef communities, where t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Family (biology)
Family ( la, familia, plural ') is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks between the ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae, but that family is commonly referred to as the "walnut family". What belongs to a family—or if a described family should be recognized at all—are proposed and determined by practicing taxonomists. There are no hard rules for describing or recognizing a family, but in plants, they can be characterized on the basis of both vegetative and reproductive features of plant species. Taxonomists often take different positions about descriptions, and there may be no broad consensus across the scientific community for some time. The publishing of new data and opini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Amphiuridae
Amphiuridae (commonly called long-armed burrowing brittle stars or burrowing brittle stars) are a large family of brittle stars of the suborder Gnathophiurina. Some species are used to study echinoderm development (e.g. '' Amphipholis kochii'' and '' Amphioplus abditus'') and bioluminescence (the dwarf brittle star, ''Amphipholis squamata''). Characteristics Amphiuridae are generally small brittlestars. Their jaws are always with two apical papillae at the tip, and one or more papillae on each side. Systematics and phylogeny Amphiuridae are the most diverse family of Ophiurida with over 200 species. The family contains the following genera: In addition, two extinct genera are known: * † '' Deckersamphiura'' Jagt, 2000 * † '' Xanthamphiura'' Hess 1970 Image:Amphiodia pulchella.jpg, '' Amphiodia pulchella'' Image:Amphioplus thrombodes.jpg, '' Amphioplus thrombodes'' Image:Ophiocentrus aspera.jpg, '' Ophiocentrus aspera'' Image:Amphipholis squamata Réunion.jpg, '' Amphipho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Filter Feeder
Filter feeders are a sub-group of suspension feeding animals that feed by straining suspended matter and food particles from water, typically by passing the water over a specialized filtering structure. Some animals that use this method of feeding are clams, krill, sponges, baleen whales, and many fish (including some sharks). Some birds, such as flamingos and certain species of duck, are also filter feeders. Filter feeders can play an important role in clarifying water, and are therefore considered ecosystem engineers. They are also important in bioaccumulation and, as a result, as indicator organisms. Fish Most forage fish are filter feeders. For example, the Atlantic menhaden, a type of herring, lives on plankton caught in midwater. Adult menhaden can filter up to four gallons of water a minute and play an important role in clarifying ocean water. They are also a natural check to the deadly red tide. Extensive article on the role of menhaden in the ecosystem and possible resul ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plankton
Plankton are the diverse collection of organisms found in Hydrosphere, water (or atmosphere, air) that are unable to propel themselves against a Ocean current, current (or wind). The individual organisms constituting plankton are called plankters. In the ocean, they provide a crucial source of food to many small and large aquatic organisms, such as bivalves, fish and whales. Marine plankton include bacteria, archaea, algae, protozoa and drifting or floating animals that inhabit the saltwater of oceans and the brackish waters of estuaries. Freshwater plankton are similar to marine plankton, but are found in the freshwaters of lakes and rivers. Plankton are usually thought of as inhabiting water, but there are also airborne versions, the aeroplankton, that live part of their lives drifting in the atmosphere. These include plant spores, pollen and wind-scattered seeds, as well as microorganisms swept into the air from terrestrial dust storms and oceanic plankton swept into the air ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Species Description
A species description is a formal description of a newly discovered species, usually in the form of a scientific paper. Its purpose is to give a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differs from species that have been described previously or are related. In order for species to be validly described, they need to follow guidelines established over time. Zoological naming requires adherence to the ICZN code, plants, the ICN, viruses ICTV, and so on. The species description often contains photographs or other illustrations of type material along with a note on where they are deposited. The publication in which the species is described gives the new species a formal scientific name. Some 1.9 million species have been identified and described, out of some 8.7 million that may actually exist. Millions more have become extinct throughout the existence of life on Earth. Naming process A name of a new species becomes valid (available in zo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brissopsis Lyrifera
''Brissopsis lyrifera'' is a species of sea urchins of the family Brissidae Brissidae is a family of echinoderms belonging to the order Spatangoida The heart urchins or Spatangoida are an order of sea urchins. Their body is a somewhat elongated oval in form, and is distinguished by the mouth being placed towards on .... Their armour is covered with spines. It was first described by the British naturalist Edward Forbes in 1841.Kroh, A. (2010). ''Brissopsis lyrifera'' (Forbes, 1841). In: Kroh, A. & Mooi, R. (2010World Echinoidea Database at the World Register of Marine Species. References Animals described in 1841 lyrifera Taxa named by Edward Forbes {{Echinoidea-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some insects, fish, amphibians, mollusks, crustaceans, cnidarians, echinoderms, and tunicates undergo metamorphosis, which is often accompanied by a change of nutrition source or behavior. Animals can be divided into species that undergo complete metamorphosis (" holometaboly"), incomplete metamorphosis ("hemimetaboly"), or no metamorphosis (" ametaboly"). Scientific usage of the term is technically precise, and it is not applied to general aspects of cell growth, including rapid growth spurts. Generally organisms with a larva stage undergo metamorphosis, and during metamorphosis the organism loses larval characteristics. References to "metamorphosis" in mammals are imprecise and only colloquial, but historically idealist ideas of transformation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Northumberland
Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on three sides; by the Scottish Borders region to the north, County Durham and Tyne and Wear to the south, and Cumbria to the west. The fourth side is the North Sea, with a stretch of coastline to the east. A predominantly rural county with a landscape of moorland and farmland, a large area is part of Northumberland National Park. The area has been the site of a number of historic battles with Scotland. Name The name of Northumberland is recorded as ''norð hẏmbra land'' in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, meaning "the land north of the Humber". The name of the kingdom of ''Northumbria'' derives from the Old English meaning "the people or province north of the Humber", as opposed to the people south of the Humber Estuary. History ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Loch Eil
Loch Eil (Scottish Gaelic, ''Loch Iall'') is a sea loch in Lochaber, Scotland that opens into Loch Linnhe near the town of Fort William. ".. the name of the Chief of Clan Cameron is spelt LOCHIEL, while the name of the loch is spelt LOCH EIL,.." Loch Eil Outward Bound railway station and Locheilside railway station are both situated on the northern shore of the loch. Achaphubuil is on the southern shore. Lochiel was a historic place east of Fassfern on the north shore of Loch Eil. The place was home to Jacobite chieftain Donald Cameron, of Lochiel. Remnant septs of Clan Chattan such as MacPhail remained in the area after the Clan mostly moved to Inverness. These MacPhails became part of Clan Cameron. The earliest known residence of the chiefs of Clan Cameron was on Eilean nan Craobh (The island of the trees) just outside the entrance to Loch Eil. They moved from there to Tor Castle in the 17th century and later to Achnacarry. The island has now become part of harbour work ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
