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Gnathostomulids
Gnathostomulids, or jaw worms, are a small phylum of nearly microscopic marine animals. They inhabit sand and mud beneath shallow coastal waters and can survive in relatively anoxic environments. They were first recognised and described in 1956. Anatomy Most gnathostomulids measure in length. They are often slender to thread-like worms, with a generally transparent body. In many Bursovaginoidea, one of the major group of gnathostomulids, the neck region is slightly narrower than the rest of the body, giving them a distinct head. Like flatworms they have a ciliated epidermis, but in contrast to flatworms, they have one cilium per cell. The cilia allow the worms to glide along in the water between sand grains, although they also use muscles, allowing the body to twist or contract, for movement. They have no body cavity, and no circulatory or respiratory system. The nervous system is simple, and restricted to the outer layers of the body wall. The only sense organs are modified c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gnathifera (phylum)
Gnathifera (from the Greek '' gnáthos'', “jaw”, and the Latin '' -fera'', “bearing”) is a clade of generally small spiralians characterized by complex jaws made of chitin. It comprises the phyla Gnathostomulida, Rotifera, Micrognathozoa, and Chaetognatha. It may also include the Cycliophora. Gnathiferans include some of the most abundant phyla. Rotifers are among the most diverse and abundant freshwater animals and chaetognaths are among the most abundant marine plankton. Description The most distinctive characteristic of gnathiferans is the presence of complex sclerotized mouthparts made of chitin. In most gnathiferans, the anus opens on the dorsal surface of the animal. In micrognathozoans and gnathostomulids, the anus is transient and only forms during defecation. Unlike other gnathiferans, in chaetognaths and ''Amiskwia'' the anus is located on the ventral surface in a subterminal position. Development All known gnathiferans are direct developers. Though gnathif ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gnathostomulida
Gnathostomulids, or jaw worms, are a small phylum of nearly microscopic marine animals. They inhabit sand and mud beneath shallow coastal waters and can survive in relatively anoxic environments. They were first recognised and described in 1956. Anatomy Most gnathostomulids measure in length. They are often slender to thread-like worms, with a generally transparent body. In many Bursovaginoidea, one of the major group of gnathostomulids, the neck region is slightly narrower than the rest of the body, giving them a distinct head. Like flatworms they have a ciliated epidermis, but in contrast to flatworms, they have one cilium per cell. The cilia allow the worms to glide along in the water between sand grains, although they also use muscles, allowing the body to twist or contract, for movement. They have no body cavity, and no circulatory or respiratory system. The nervous system is simple, and restricted to the outer layers of the body wall. The only sense organs are modified c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Micrognathozoa
''Limnognathia maerski'' is a microscopic freshwater animal, discovered living in warm springs on Disko Island, Greenland, in 1994. Since then, it was also found in Crozet Islands of Antarctica.). With an average length of 100 micrometers (μm), it is one of the smallest animals known. Description Feeding ''L. maerski'' mainly feeds on bacteria, blue-green algae, and diatoms. It has very complicated jaws, with fifteen separate elements. The parts of the jaw structure are connected by ligaments and muscles. The jaw parts are very small, ranging from 4 μm to 14 μm. The animal can extend part of its jaw structure outside its mouth while eating. It also extends much of its jaw structure outside its mouth when it is regurgitating indigestible items. Anatomy ''L. maerski'' has a large ganglion, or 'brain', in its head, and paired nerve cords extending ventrally (along the lower side of the body) towards the tail. Stiff sensory bristles made up of one to thr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Filospermoidea
Filospermoidea is an order within the phylum Gnathostomulida. Filospermoids are generally longer than gnathostomulids in the order Bursovaginoidea, and have an elongate rostrum. It lives in North America, off the coasts of the southern United States and the Caribbean, primarily in the Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ..., as well as in southeastern Denmark. Classification The order Filospermoidea contains 29 species in 2 families and 3 genera. * Family Haplognathiidae [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syndermata
Syndermata is a clade of animals that, in some systems, is considered synonymous with Rotifera. Older systems separate Rotifera and Acanthocephala Acanthocephala (Greek , ', thorn + , ', head) is a phylum of parasitic worms known as acanthocephalans, thorny-headed worms, or spiny-headed worms, characterized by the presence of an eversible proboscis, armed with spines, which it uses to p ... as different phyla, and group them both under Syndermata. References Platyzoa {{Protostome-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Testis
A testicle or testis (plural testes) is the male reproductive gland or gonad in all bilaterians, including humans. It is homologous to the female ovary. The functions of the testes are to produce both sperm and androgens, primarily testosterone. Testosterone release is controlled by the anterior pituitary luteinizing hormone, whereas sperm production is controlled both by the anterior pituitary follicle-stimulating hormone and gonadal testosterone. Structure Appearance Males have two testicles of similar size contained within the scrotum, which is an extension of the abdominal wall. Scrotal asymmetry, in which one testicle extends farther down into the scrotum than the other, is common. This is because of the differences in the vasculature's anatomy. For 85% of men, the right testis hangs lower than the left one. Measurement and volume The volume of the testicle can be estimated by palpating it and comparing it to ellipsoids of known sizes. Another method is to use caliper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ovary
The ovary is an organ in the female reproductive system that produces an ovum. When released, this travels down the fallopian tube into the uterus, where it may become fertilized by a sperm. There is an ovary () found on each side of the body. The ovaries also secrete hormones that play a role in the menstrual cycle and fertility. The ovary progresses through many stages beginning in the prenatal period through menopause. It is also an endocrine gland because of the various hormones that it secretes. Structure The ovaries are considered the female gonads. Each ovary is whitish in color and located alongside the lateral wall of the uterus in a region called the ovarian fossa. The ovarian fossa is the region that is bounded by the external iliac artery and in front of the ureter and the internal iliac artery. This area is about 4 cm x 3 cm x 2 cm in size.Daftary, Shirish; Chakravarti, Sudip (2011). Manual of Obstetrics, 3rd Edition. Elsevier. pp. 1-16. . The ovari ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Simultaneous Hermaphrodite
Simultaneous hermaphroditism is one of the two types of hermaphroditism, the other type being sequential hermaphroditism. In this form of hermaphroditism an individual has sex organs of both sexes and can produce both gamete types even in the same breeding season. The distinction between simultaneous hermaphroditism and sequential hermaphroditism isn’t always clear. But unlike sequential hermaphrodites, simultaneous hermaphrodites are both male and female at sexual maturity. Also sex determination does not apply to simultaneous hermaphrodites (except in species with mix mating systems). In simultaneous hermaphrodites, self-fertilization is possible in some species, where in others it is absent. Plants Most plants are simultaneous hermaphrodites with it occurring in 80% of angiosperms. Animals Simultaneous hermaphroditism is one of the most common sexual systems in animals. The majority of Cocculinoidea are simultaneous hermaphrodites and it occurs in over 67% of coral ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Anus
The anus (Latin, 'ring' or 'circle') is an opening at the opposite end of an animal's digestive tract from the mouth. Its function is to control the expulsion of feces, the residual semi-solid waste that remains after food digestion, which, depending on the type of animal, includes: matter which the animal cannot digest, such as bones; Summary at food material after the nutrients have been extracted, for example cellulose or lignin; ingested matter which would be toxic if it remained in the digestive tract; and dead or excess gut bacteria and other endosymbionts. Amphibians, reptiles, and birds use the same orifice (known as the cloaca) for excreting liquid and solid wastes, for copulation and egg-laying. Monotreme mammals also have a cloaca, which is thought to be a feature inherited from the earliest amniotes via the therapsids. Marsupials have a single orifice for excreting both solids and liquids and, in females, a separate vagina for reproduction. Female placental mamm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rotifera
The rotifers (, from the Latin , "wheel", and , "bearing"), commonly called wheel animals or wheel animalcules, make up a phylum (Rotifera ) of microscopic and near-microscopic pseudocoelomate animals. They were first described by Rev. John Harris in 1696, and other forms were described by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek in 1703. Most rotifers are around long (although their size can range from to over ), and are common in freshwater environments throughout the world with a few saltwater species. Some rotifers are free swimming and truly planktonic, others move by inchworming along a substrate, and some are sessile, living inside tubes or gelatinous holdfasts that are attached to a substrate. About 25 species are colonial (e.g., '' Sinantherina semibullata''), either sessile or planktonic. Rotifers are an important part of the freshwater zooplankton, being a major foodsource and with many species also contributing to the decomposition of soil organic matter. Most species of the roti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Transmission Electron Microscopy
Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is a microscopy technique in which a beam of electrons is transmitted through a specimen to form an image. The specimen is most often an ultrathin section less than 100 nm thick or a suspension on a grid. An image is formed from the interaction of the electrons with the sample as the beam is transmitted through the specimen. The image is then magnified and focused onto an imaging device, such as a fluorescent screen, a layer of photographic film, or a sensor such as a scintillator attached to a charge-coupled device. Transmission electron microscopes are capable of imaging at a significantly higher resolution than light microscopes, owing to the smaller de Broglie wavelength of electrons. This enables the instrument to capture fine detail—even as small as a single column of atoms, which is thousands of times smaller than a resolvable object seen in a light microscope. Transmission electron microscopy is a major analytical method i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rotifer
The rotifers (, from the Latin , "wheel", and , "bearing"), commonly called wheel animals or wheel animalcules, make up a phylum (Rotifera ) of microscopic and near-microscopic pseudocoelomate animals. They were first described by Rev. John Harris in 1696, and other forms were described by Antonie van Leeuwenhoek in 1703. Most rotifers are around long (although their size can range from to over ), and are common in freshwater environments throughout the world with a few saltwater species. Some rotifers are free swimming and truly planktonic, others move by inchworming along a substrate, and some are sessile, living inside tubes or gelatinous holdfasts that are attached to a substrate. About 25 species are colonial (e.g., '' Sinantherina semibullata''), either sessile or planktonic. Rotifers are an important part of the freshwater zooplankton, being a major foodsource and with many species also contributing to the decomposition of soil organic matter. Most species of the r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
