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Cliona Orientalis
''Cliona orientalis'' is a species of demosponge in the family Clionaidae. It occurs in the Indo-Pacific region and is a bioeroding species, with various specialisations for living on and inside calcareous substrates such as massive corals and molluscs. Distribution and habitat ''C. orientalis'' is native to the tropical Indo-Pacific region. Its range extends from East Africa and Madagascar, through India and the Maldives, to northern Australia, the Philippines, and many island groups in the Western Pacific Ocean. Its depth range is down to about . Ecology Like other demosponges, ''C. orientalis'' is a filter feeder. Water is drawn in through fine pores, the nutritious particles are filtered out, and the water exits the sponge through the oscula. In addition, this sponge is able to extract nutrition from dissolved sugars in the water. It is a hermaphrodite; sperm are liberated into the water column and drawn into another individual via the water current, fertilisation being i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Johannes Thiele (zoologist)
Karl Hermann Johannes Thiele (1 October 1860 – 5 August 1935) was a German zoologist specialized in malacology. Thiele was born in Goldap, East Prussia. His ''Handbuch der systematischen Weichtierkunde'' (English edition published by the Smithsonian under the title ''Handbook of Systematic Malacology'') is a standard work. From 1904 until his retirement in 1925 he was the curator of the malacological collection at the Museum für Naturkunde (Museum of Natural History) in Berlin. Thiele described more than 1.500 new species of molluscs; until today their types are deposited with the Museum of Natural History in Berlin. Especially important are his works on the Mollusca of the First German Antarctica Expedition and of the German Deep Sea Expedition aboard the vessel Valdivia. Thiele's classification of Gastropoda has been in use up to the past decade. It modified an earlier concept of Henri Milne-Edwards (1848) with three subclasses: Prosobranchia, Opisthobranchia and Pulmonata. ... [...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] |
Sponges Described In 1900
Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through them, consisting of jelly-like mesohyl sandwiched between two thin layers of cells. Sponges have unspecialized cells that can transform into other types and that often migrate between the main cell layers and the mesohyl in the process. Sponges do not have nervous, digestive or circulatory systems. Instead, most rely on maintaining a constant water flow through their bodies to obtain food and oxygen and to remove wastes. Sponges were first to branch off the evolutionary tree from the last common ancestor of all animals, making them the sister group of all other animals. Etymology The term ''sponge'' derives from the Ancient Greek word ( 'sponge'). Overview Sponges are similar to other animals in that they are multicellular, heter ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
