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Epitoke
Epitoky is a process that occurs in many species of polychaete marine worms wherein a sexually immature worm (the atoke) is modified or transformed into a sexually mature worm (the epitoke). Epitokes are pelagic morphs capable of sexual reproduction. Unlike the immature form, which is typically benthic (lives on the bottom), epitokes are specialized for swimming as well as reproducing. The primary benefit to epitoky is increased chances of finding other members of the same species for reproduction. There are two methods in which epitoky can occur: schizogamy and epigamy. Schizogamy Many species go through schizogamy, where the atoke uses asexual reproduction to produce buds from its posterior end. Each bud develops into an epitoke and, once fully formed, will then break off from the atoke and become free-swimming. Many genetically identical epitokes are formed in this way, thus allowing a higher chance of finding a mate of the same species and subsequent passing of genes to th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polychaete
Polychaeta () is a paraphyletic class (biology), class of generally marine invertebrate, marine annelid worms, common name, commonly called bristle worms or polychaetes (). Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are made of chitin. More than 10,000 species are described in this class. Common representatives include the lugworm (''Arenicola marina'') and the Alitta virens, sandworm or Alitta succinea, clam worm ''Alitta''. Polychaetes as a class are robust and widespread, with species that live in the coldest ocean temperatures of the abyssal plain, to forms which tolerate the extremely high temperatures near hydrothermal vents. Polychaetes occur throughout the Earth's oceans at all depths, from forms that live as plankton near the surface, to a 2- to 3-cm specimen (still unclassified) observed by the robot ocean probe Nereus (underwater vehicle), ''Nereus'' at the bottom of the Challenger Deep, the deepes ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Platynereis Dumerilii
''Platynereis dumerilii'' is a species of annelid polychaete worm. It was originally placed into the genus ''Nereis'' and later reassigned to the genus ''Platynereis''. ''Platynereis dumerilii'' lives in coastal marine waters from temperate to tropical zones. It can be found in a wide range from the Azores, the Mediterranean, in the North Sea, the English Channel, and the Atlantic down to the Cape of Good Hope, in the Black Sea, the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, the Sea of Japan, the Pacific, and the Kerguelen Islands. ''Platynereis dumerilii'' is today an important lab animal, it is considered as a living fossil, and it is used in many phylogenetic studies as a model organism. Description ''Platynereis dumerilii'' is a small marine ragworm: Males reach a length of 2 to 3 cm, while females reach a length of 3 to 4 cm. Like a number of invertebrate phyla, ''Platynereis dumerilii'' has an axochord, a paired longitudinal muscle that displays striking similarities to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Syllid Polychaete Undergoing Epitoky
Syllidae is a Family (biology), family of small to medium-sized polychaete worms. Syllids are distinguished from other polychaetes by the presence of a muscular region of the anterior digestive tract known as the ''proventricle''. Syllid worms range in size from to . Most syllids are benthic organisms that transition to a pelagic epitoke for reproduction. They are found in all regions of the ocean, from the intertidal zone to the deep sea, and are especially abundant in shallow water. They are found in a range of habitats, moving actively on rock and sandy substrates, hiding in crevices and among seaweeds, and climbing on sponges, corals, hydrozoans, seagrasses and mangroves. They are generalist feeders. A young Syllid was one of the first worms to be found with pollen from seagrass in its stomach, making it a possible pollinator. ''Syllis ramosa'' was the first polychaete discovered to have a branching body plan. Later, two species of Ramisyllis were discovered to have a br ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alitta Succinea (epitoke)
''Alitta succinea'' (known as the pile worm or clam worm) is a species of marine annelid in the family Nereididae (commonly known as ragworms or sandworms). It has been recorded throughout the North West Atlantic, as well as in the Gulf of Maine and South Africa. Description The clam worm can reach up to in length, but most specimens are smaller than this. It is brown colored at the rear, and reddish-brown on the rest of its body. It has an identifiable head with four eyes, two sensory feelers or palps, and many tentacles. The head consists of two segments: the anterior and posterior prostomium. The last body segment is known as the pygidium. Life cycle It is a freeswimming polychaete, scavenging on the bottom of shallow marine waters. It feeds on other worms and algae. To feed, it uses a proboscis, which has two hooks at the end, to grasp prey and draw it into its mouth. Clam worms are an important food source for bottom-feeding fish and crustaceans, though they can protect t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bioluminescence
Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by living organisms. It is a form of chemiluminescence. Bioluminescence occurs widely in marine vertebrates and invertebrates, as well as in some fungi, microorganisms including some bioluminescent bacteria, and terrestrial arthropods such as fireflies. In some animals, the light is bacteriogenic, produced by symbiotic bacteria such as those from the genus ''Vibrio''; in others, it is autogenic, produced by the animals themselves. In a general sense, the principal chemical reaction in bioluminescence involves a light-emitting molecule and an enzyme, generally called luciferin and luciferase, respectively. Because these are generic names, luciferins and luciferases are often distinguished by the species or group, e.g. firefly luciferin. In all characterized cases, the enzyme catalyzes the oxidation of the luciferin. In some species, the luciferase requires other cofactors, such as calcium or magnesium ions, and somet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sperm
Sperm is the male reproductive cell, or gamete, in anisogamous forms of sexual reproduction (forms in which there is a larger, female reproductive cell and a smaller, male one). Animals produce motile sperm with a tail known as a flagellum, which are known as spermatozoa, while some red algae and fungi produce non-motile sperm cells, known as spermatia. Flowering plants contain non-motile sperm inside pollen, while some more basal plants like ferns and some gymnosperms have motile sperm. Sperm cells form during the process known as spermatogenesis, which in amniotes ( reptiles and mammals) takes place in the seminiferous tubules of the testes. This process involves the production of several successive sperm cell precursors, starting with spermatogonia, which differentiate into spermatocytes. The spermatocytes then undergo meiosis, reducing their chromosome number by half, which produces spermatids. The spermatids then mature and, in animals, construct a tail, or flagellum, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Egg Cell
The egg cell, or ovum (plural ova), is the female reproductive cell, or gamete, in most anisogamous organisms (organisms that reproduce sexually with a larger, female gamete and a smaller, male one). The term is used when the female gamete is not capable of movement (non-motile). If the male gamete (sperm) is capable of movement, the type of sexual reproduction is also classified as oogamous. A nonmotile female gamete formed in the oogonium of some algae, fungi, oomycetes, or bryophytes is an oosphere. When fertilized the oosphere becomes the oospore. When egg and sperm fuse during fertilisation, a diploid cell (the zygote) is formed, which rapidly grows into a new organism. History While the non-mammalian animal egg was obvious, the doctrine ''ex ovo omne vivum'' ("every living nimal comes froman egg"), associated with William Harvey (1578–1657), was a rejection of spontaneous generation and preformationism as well as a bold assumption that mammals also reproduced via ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gametes
A gamete (; , ultimately ) is a haploid cell that fuses with another haploid cell during fertilization in organisms that reproduce sexually. Gametes are an organism's reproductive cells, also referred to as sex cells. In species that produce two morphologically distinct types of gametes, and in which each individual produces only one type, a female is any individual that produces the larger type of gamete—called an ovum— and a male produces the smaller type—called a sperm. Sperm cells or spermatozoa are small and motile due to the flagellum, a tail-shaped structure that allows the cell to propel and move. In contrast, each egg cell or ovum is relatively large and non-motile. In short a gamete is an egg cell (female gamete) or a sperm (male gamete). In animals, ova mature in the ovaries of females and sperm develop in the testes of males. During fertilization, a spermatozoon and ovum unite to form a new diploid organism. Gametes carry half the genetic information of an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Atrophy
Atrophy is the partial or complete wasting away of a part of the body. Causes of atrophy include mutations (which can destroy the gene to build up the organ), poor nourishment, poor circulation, loss of hormonal support, loss of nerve supply to the target organ, excessive amount of apoptosis of cells, and disuse or lack of exercise or disease intrinsic to the tissue itself. In medical practice, hormonal and nerve inputs that maintain an organ or body part are said to have ''trophic'' effects. A diminished muscular trophic condition is designated as ''atrophy''. Atrophy is reduction in size of cell, organ or tissue, after attaining its normal mature growth. In contrast, hypoplasia is the reduction in the cellular numbers of an organ, or tissue that has not attained normal maturity. Atrophy is the general physiological process of reabsorption and breakdown of tissues, involving apoptosis. When it occurs as a result of disease or loss of trophic support because of other diseases ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chaeta
A chaeta or cheta (from Greek χαίτη “crest, mane, flowing hair"; plural: chaetae) is a chitinous bristle or seta found in annelid worms, (although the term is also frequently used to describe similar structures in other invertebrates such as arthropods). Polychaete annelids, ('polychaeta' literally meaning "many bristles") are named for their chaetae. In Polychaeta, chaetae are found as bundles on the parapodia, paired appendages on the side of the body. The chaetae are epidermal extracellular structures, and clearly visible in most polychaetes. They are probably the best studied structures in these animals. Use in taxonomy and identification The ultrastructure of chaetae is fundamentally similar for all taxa but there is vast diversity in chaetal morphology. Moreover, chaetae bear precise characters for determination of species and taxonomic assessment. The shape, absolute and relative size, number, position, ornamentation and type are important taxonomic characters a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Parapodia
In invertebrates, the term parapodium ( Gr. ''para'', beyond or beside + ''podia'', feet; plural: parapodia) refers to lateral outgrowths or protrusions from the body. Parapodia are predominantly found in annelids, where they are paired, unjointed lateral outgrowths that bear the chaetae. In several groups of sea snails and sea slugs, 'parapodium' refers to lateral fleshy protrusions. __TOC__ Annelid parapodia Most species of polychaete annelids have paired, fleshy parapodia which are segmentally arranged along the body axis. Parapodia vary greatly in size and form, reflecting a variety of functions, such as gas exchange, anchorage, protection and locomotion. General description Parapodia in polychaetes can be uniramous (consisting of one lobe or ramus) but are usually biramous (two lobes or rami). In the latter case, the dorsal lobes are called notopodia and the ventral lobes neuropodia. Both neuropodia and notopodia may possess a bundle of chaetae (neurochaetae and notochaet ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
