Clive G.

Abellanosa
2015
Bio 4.1 YB
Criteria
Form and Function

Body Wall and

Tubes

September 25,

Polychaeta
-has legs called parapodia are
lateral fleshy outgrowths of
the body wall that may be
large and complex or little
more than low nubbins or
ridges depending on species
-the parapodial lobes (rami)
house the pocketlike chaetal
sacs, each of which secretes
a bundle of chaetae
-the peristomium bears
sensory tentacular cirri which
have adopted a feeding
function
-the pygidium primitively
bears one pair of pygidial cirri

Classes
Oligochaeta
-well-developed segments, four
bundles of chaetae per
segment, a small prostomium
lacking appendages, and a
small pygidium also devoid of
appendages
-oligochaete chaetae are simple
and terminate in a needlelike
point or tips that are bifid,
pectinate, or otherwise different
from the shaft
-on each side of a segment are
chaetal sacs in which the
chaetae are secreted and from
which they emerge as groups or
bundles

-many species secrete and

occupy a tube that may be
open at one or both ends and
partially buried in sediment or
attached to surfaces
-the tube material is a fibrous
protein that has the
appearance and texture of
cellophane, parchment, or silk
-attachment of the tube
enables the worm to inhabit

-a thin cuticle overlies an

epidermal layer that contains
mucous gland cells
-the circular muscles are
outermost, the well-developed
longitudinal muscles are in four
bands, and the septa are
relatively complete
-in most earthworms, each
coelomic compartment, except
at the extrimities, is connected

Hirudinomorpha
-the body typically is
dorsoventrally flattened and
frequently is tapered at the
anterior end
-the segments at both
extremities have been
modified to form suckers
-the anterior sucker usually
is smaller than the posterior
and frequently surrounds
the mouth
-segmentation is very much
reduced
-leeches have fixed number
of 33 segments, but
secondary superficial
annulations externally mask
the segmentation
-chaetae are absent
-body wall consists of a
typical annelidan cuticle and
epidermis
-the fibrous connective
tissue beneath the
epidermis is very thick and
occupies much of the
interior of the body

Clive G. Abellanosa
2015
Bio 4.1 YB

September 25,
hard, bare surfaces such as
rock, shell, or coral

Musculature and
Locomotion

Nervous System
and Sense Organs

-peristaltic burrowing is
common among polychaetes
having elongated bodies,
reduced parapodia and head
appendages, and many
similar segments
-the circular musculature
usually is well developed and
the septa often are complete,
restricting the coelomic fluid
to individual segments
-other burrowing polychaetes,
such as the lugworm,
augment or replace wholebody peristalsis with an
eversible pharynx
-the polychaete brain may be
large and lobed if the head
bears sense organs
-additional ganglia, called
pedal ganglia, which are
unique to polychaetes, are
important centers that control
the complex parapodial
movement
-nuchal organs which is
unique to polychaetes, are a
pair of ciliated sensory pits or

to the outside by a mid-dorsal

coelomopore situated in the
intersegmental furrows
-oligochaetes crawl and burrow
by peristaltic contractions
-chaetae are extended as the
body shortens and retracted as
the body elongates
-each segment moves forward
in steps of 2 to 3 cm at the rate
of 7 to 10 steps per minute
-freshwater species move
through bottom debris and
algae in the same manner as
burrowing earthworms, but the
microscopic aeolosomatids
swim by means of ciliated
prostomium
-the two nerve cords have
fused in the ventral midline and
are situated inside the muscle
layers of the body wall
-the oligochaete brain has
shifted posteriorly, and in
lumbricids it lies in the third
segment, above the anterior
end of the pharynx
-the subpharyngeal ganglion is
the principal center of motor
control and vital reflexes and

-the leeches loss of septa,

chaetae, and segmented
coelomic cavities is
correlated functionally with
a change from peristaltic
burrowing to new modes of
locomotion: leeches move
by inchworm-like crawling or
by swimming

-the anterior and posterior

ganglia are concentrated
into masses because of the
segmental modifications
forming the suckers
-the specialized sense
organs in the leeches
consist of 2 to 10 pigmentcup ocelli and sensory
papillae
-the sensory papillae are
small, projecting discs

Clive G. Abellanosa
2015
Bio 4.1 YB

September 25,
slits situated posterolaterally
on the prostomium which
often are eversible and are
important for detecting food

Digestive System

Nutrition

-digestive system is
differentiated into a pharynx,
short esophagus, stomach,
intestine, and rectum
-the pharynx can be a
protrusible, toungelike,
muscular bulb or an eversible
organ
-teeth of various forms and
functions, sometimes
composing grasping jaws,
occur in the pharynx of many
polychaetes
-the ceca, along with the
anterior end of the intestine,
secrete digestive enzymes
-direct deposit feeders ingest
sediment directly with the
mouth or a nonmuscular,
bulbous, prottrusible pharynx

dominates the succeeding

ganglia in the chain
-oligochaetes lack eyes, except
for a few aquatic forms that
have simple pigment-cup ocelli
-the integument, however, is
well supplied with dispersed
unicellular photoreceptors
situated in the inner part of the
epidermis, especially dorsally at
the anterior end
-the oligochaete digestive tract
is straight and relatively simple
-the mouth situated beneath
the prostomium, opens into a
small buccal cavity, which in
turn opens to a more spacious
pharynx
-the prinicipal ingestive organ is
a muscular mid-dorsal
pharyngeal bulb or pad
-the pharynx opens into a
narrow, tubular esophagus,
which may be modified at
different levels to form a
gizzard and, in lumbricid
earthworms, a crop
-most species of oligochaetes,
both aquatic and terrestrial, are
scavengers that feed on dead
organic matter, particularly

arranged in a dorsal row or

in a complete ring around
one annulations of each
segment

-have either a protrusible

pharynx or a nonprotrusible
sucking pharynx with or
without jaws
-the pharynx is highly
muscular, has a triangle
lumen, and is lined
internally and externally
with cuticle

-all leeches are carnivores or

bloodsucking ectoparasites
-predatory leeches always
feed on small invertebrates,

Clive G. Abellanosa
2015
Bio 4.1 YB

Gas Exchange

Internal Transport

September 25,
-indirect deposit feeders also
feed on the organic material
in sediments, but collect the
material first with a
specialized appendage that
then conveys the food to the
mouth
-specialized gills, through
thin-walled and delicate, are
always unprotected
outgrowths of the body
surface and never enclosed in
gill chambers
-gills are associated with the
parapodia and in many cases
are modified parts of the
parapodium

-in each segment, the ventral

vessel gives rise to one pair
of parapodial vessels and
several pairs of intestinal
vessels
-the parapodial vessels
transport blood to the
parapodia, body wall, and
nephridia before returning it
to the dorsal vessel
-the intestinal vessels deliver
blood from the gut to the

vegetation
-they also deposit feed,
ingesting organic material
obtained from mud or soil while
burrowing

including worms, snails, and

insect larvae

-takes place by diffusion of

gases through the body wall
-in larger species, the
integumental capillaries give
rise to loops that enter the
epidermis
-mucous-gland secretions and
fluid discharged through the
coelomopores moisten the
surface of the epidermis and
facilitate gas exchange in the
earthworms
-earthworm also have
integumental capillaries,
however, and many
oligochaetes have hearts that
supplement the contractile
dorsal blood vessel
-the hearts are expanded
muscular regions of the
circumenteric vessels that link
the ventral and dorsal
longitudinal vessels

-the piscicolid gills are

lateral leaflike or branching
outgrowths of the body wall

-the coelomic fluid is

propelled by the muscular
contractions of the lateral
longitudinal channels

Clive G. Abellanosa
2015
Bio 4.1 YB
Excretion

Reproduction and
Development

September 25,
ventral vessel
-polychaete excretory organs
are filtration nephridia
-chlorogogen tissue,
coelomocytes, and the
intestinal wall may play
accessory roles in excretion
-polychaetes with
metanephridial systems have
vascular filtration sites
covered with podocytes and
septum-associated
metanephridia
-among polychaetes with
protonephridia, a
protonephridium typically
bears a cluster of terminal
cells called a solenocyte,
closely resembles a sponge
choanocyte
-polychaetes readily
regenerate missing or
damaged parts
-most polychaetes probably
reproduce only sexually , and
the majority of species are
gonochoric
-polychaete gonads usually
are distinct, segmentally
paired organs found in the

-adult oligochaetes have a

metanephridial system, and
typically, there is one pair of
metanephridial tubules per
segment except at the extreme
anterior and posterior ends
-before the nephridial tube
opens to the outside, it may be
dilated to form a bladder
-the nephridiopores are usually
situated on the ventrolateral
surface of each segment
-in contrast to the majority of
oligochaetes, which have in
each segment a single typical
pair of metanephridia called
holonephridia
-earthworms excrete urea, but
they are less perfectly ureotelic
than other terrestrial animals
-clonal reproduction is always a
transverse division (fission) of
the parent worm into two or
more new individuals
-the hermaphroditic
oligochaetes have welldeveloped gonads, but these
are restricted to a few genital
segments
-the clitellum is a reproductive

-the excretory system

consists of 10 to 17 pairs of
metanephridia, 1 pair per
segment, situated in the
middle third of the body
-the nephridial tubule
consists of a main duct that
receives numerous branched
ductules (canaliculi)
-the main duct typically
expands into a urinary
bladder before opening to
the exterior at a
ventrolateral nephridiopore

-as clitellates, leeches are

hermaphrodites, but they
are protandric, not
simultaneous
hermaphrodites, and the
testes mature before the
ovaries
-a larva (cryptolarva)
develops within the cocoon
of arhynchobdellid leeches

Clive G. Abellanosa
2015
Bio 4.1 YB

September 25,
connective tissue associated
with such structures as septa,
blood vessels, and the lining
of the coelom
-epitoky is the formation of a
pelagic, reproductive
individual, or epitoke, from a
benthic, nonreproductive
individual, the atoke
-many epitokes swim to the
surface simultaneously and
shed eggs and sperm this
synchronous behavior is
known as swarming
-polychaete reproductive
events are regulated by
hormones
-many polychaetes shed their
eggs freely into the seawater,
where after fertilization they
become planktonic
-after gastrulation, the
embryo rapidly develops into
a top-shaped trocophore larva

structure characteristic of
clitellates
-the clitellum generally
coincides with sexual maturity,
but there are some worms in
which the clitellum becomes
conspicuous only during the
breeding season
-copulation is the rule, and
mutual sperm transfer occurs
between the hermaphrodites
-a few days after copulation, a
cocoon is secreted by the
clitellum for the deposition of
the eggs
-the oligochaetes are direct
developers and thus have
relatively yolky eggs
-the cleavage pattern, although
retaining traces of the ancestral
spiral cleavages, is
considerably modified in
oligochaetes , especially in
earthworms