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Larvacean
Larvaceans or appendicularians, class Appendicularia, are solitary, free-swimming tunicates found throughout the world's oceans. Like most tunicates, larvaceans are filter feeders. Unlike most other tunicates, they keep their tadpole-like shape as adults, with the notochord running through the tail. They can be found in the pelagic zone, specifically in the photic zone, or sometimes deeper. They are transparent planktonic animals, usually ranging from to in body length including the tail, although giant larvaceans can reach up to in length. Larvaceans are known for the large houses they build around their bodies to assist in filter-feeding. Secreted from mucus and cellulose, these structures often comprise several layers of filters and can reach up to ten times their body length. In some genera like ''Oikopleura'', houses are built and discarded every few hours, with sinking houses playing a key role in the oceanic carbon cycle. History The study of larvaceans began with t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tunicate
A tunicate is a marine invertebrate animal, a member of the subphylum Tunicata (). It is part of the Chordata, a phylum which includes all animals with dorsal nerve cords and notochords (including vertebrates). The subphylum was at one time called Urochordata, and the term urochordates is still sometimes used for these animals. They are the only chordates that have lost their myomeric segmentation, with the possible exception of the 'seriation of the gill slits'. Some tunicates live as solitary individuals, but others replicate by budding and become colonies, each unit being known as a zooid. They are marine filter feeders with a water-filled, sac-like body structure and two tubular openings, known as siphons, through which they draw in and expel water. During their respiration and feeding, they take in water through the incurrent (or inhalant) siphon and expel the filtered water through the excurrent (or exhalant) siphon. Most adult tunicates are sessile, immobile and perman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oikopleura
''Oikopleura'' is a genus of Tunicata (sea-squirts) in the class Appendicularia. It forms a mucus house every four hours at 20 degrees Celsius. This house has a coarse mesh to keep out big particles, and a fine mesh that collects the small particles, down to the nanoplankton that includes (pelagic) bacteria. Abandoned mucus houses sink to the deep, collecting organic particles during their descent. They make an important contribution to marine snow, since ''Oikopleura'' is abundant and is a very active filterer, using powerful strokes of its tail. Its abundance is less obvious from preserved samples (that are usually analyzed) because the gelatinous body disappears in the preservation process while leaving hardly any trace. Species of ''Oikopleura ''have the smallest genomes in the animal kingdom, only about 75 Mb. ''Oikopleura'' contains bioluminescent species. About half of ''Oikopleura'' species are bioluminescent. Taxonomy * ''Oikopleura (Coecaria)'' , 1933 ** ''Oikopleu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stegosoma (tunicate)
Stegosoma may refer to: * '' Stegosoma (insect)'', a genus of flies in the family Rhiniidae * ''Stegosoma'', a genus of tunicates in the family Oikopleuridae; synonym of '' Caudostegosoma'' * ''Stegosoma'', a genus of arachnids in the unknown family, described in 1873 by Cambridge {{Genus disambiguation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Megalocercus
''Megalocercus'' is a genus of tunicates belonging to the family Oikopleuridae Oikopleuridae is a family of larvacean tunicates (class Appendicularia). References * Van der Land, J. (2001). Appendicularia, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in .... The species of this genus are found in Pacific Ocean. Species: *'' Megalocercus abyssorum'' *'' Megalocercus huxleyi'' References {{Taxonbar, from=Q10579550 Tunicates ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Folia (tunicate)
''Folia'' is a genus of larvacean tunicates (class Appendicularia) in the family Oikopleuridae Oikopleuridae is a family of larvacean tunicates (class Appendicularia). References * Van der Land, J. (2001). Appendicularia, in: Costello, M.J. et al. (Ed.) (2001). European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in .... References External links ''Folia''at WoRMS Appendicularia Tunicate genera {{tunicata-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
