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Cercaria
A cercaria (plural cercariae) is the larval form of the trematode Trematoda is a class of flatworms known as flukes. They are obligate internal parasites with a complex life cycle requiring at least two hosts. The intermediate host, in which asexual reproduction occurs, is usually a snail. The definitive h ... class of parasites. It develops within the germinal cells of the sporocyst or redia. A cercaria has a tapering head with large penetration glands. It may or may not have a long swimming "tail", depending on the species. The motile cercaria finds and settles in a host where it will become either an adult, or a mesocercaria, or a metacercaria, according to species. Rotifers ('' Rotaria rotatoria'') produce a chemical, Schistosome Paralysis Factor, suppressing cercaria swimming and reducing infections.{{cite journal , editor1-last=Khosla , editor1-first=Chaitan , last1=Gao, first1=Jiarong, last2=Yang, first2=Ning, last3=Lewis, first3=Fred A., last4=Yau, first4=Peter, l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Trematode Life Cycle Stages
Trematodes are parasitic flatworms of the class ''Trematoda'', specifically parasitic flukes with two suckers: one ventral and the other oral. Trematodes are covered by a tegument, that protects the organism from the environment by providing secretory and absorptive functions. The life cycle of a typical trematode begins with an egg. Some trematode eggs hatch directly in the environment (water), while others are eaten and hatched within a host, typically a mollusc. The hatchling is called a '' miracidium,'' a free-swimming, ciliated larva. Miracidia will then grow and develop within the intermediate host into a sac-like structure known as a sporocyst or into rediae, either of which may give rise to free-swimming, motile cercariae larvae. The cercariae then could either infect a vertebrate host or a second intermediate host. Adult metacercariae or mesocercariae, depending on the individual trematode's life cycle, will then infect the vertebrate host or be rejected and excreted th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Euglena
''Euglena'' is a genus of single cell flagellate eukaryotes. It is the best known and most widely studied member of the class Euglenoidea, a diverse group containing some 54 genera and at least 200 species. Species of ''Euglena'' are found in fresh water and salt water. They are often abundant in quiet inland waters where they may bloom in numbers sufficient to color the surface of ponds and ditches green (''E. viridis'') or red ('' E. sanguinea''). The species ''Euglena gracilis'' has been used extensively in the laboratory as a model organism. Most species of ''Euglena'' have photosynthesizing chloroplasts within the body of the cell, which enable them to feed by autotrophy, like plants. However, they can also take nourishment heterotrophically, like animals. Since ''Euglena'' have features of both animals and plants, early taxonomists, working within the Linnaean two-kingdom system of biological classification, found them difficult to classify. It was the question ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rotaria
Rotaria is a genus of asexual, microscopic animal known as a bdelloid rotifer. Analysis published in 2007 of morphology and DNA sequence data of species form the genus confirmed that despite their asexual mechanism of reproduction, two fundamental properties of species, independent evolution and ecological divergence by natural selection Natural selection is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristic of a population over generations. Cha ... occurred. This demonstrates that sex is not a necessary condition for speciation. Fontaneto D, Herniou EA, Boschet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Larvae
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. The larva's appearance is generally very different from the adult form (''e.g.'' caterpillars and butterflies) including different unique structures and organs that do not occur in the adult form. Their diet may also be considerably different. Larvae are frequently adapted to different environments than adults. For example, some larvae such as tadpoles live almost exclusively in aquatic environments, but can live outside water as adult frogs. By living in a distinct environment, larvae may be given shelter from predators and reduce competition for resources with the adult population. Animals in the larval stage will consume food to fuel their transition into the adult form. In some organisms like polychaetes and barnacles, adults are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reproduction In Animals
Reproduction (or procreation or breeding) is the biological process by which new individual organisms – "offspring" – are produced from their "parent" or parents. Reproduction is a fundamental feature of all known life; each individual organism exists as the result of reproduction. There are two forms of reproduction: asexual and sexual. In asexual reproduction, an organism can reproduce without the involvement of another organism. Asexual reproduction is not limited to single-celled organisms. The cloning of an organism is a form of asexual reproduction. By asexual reproduction, an organism creates a genetically similar or identical copy of itself. The evolution of sexual reproduction is a major puzzle for biologists. The two-fold cost of sexual reproduction is that only 50% of organisms reproduce and organisms only pass on 50% of their genes.John Maynard Smith ''The Evolution of Sex'' 1978. Sexual reproduction typically requires the sexual interaction of two speciali ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
