SYNOPTIC DESCRIPTION OF THE PHYLUM ECTOPROCTA (NITSCHE 1869)
| EUKARYA> UNIKONTA> OPISTHOKONTA> ANIMALIA> METAZOA> BILATERIA> PROTOSTOMATA> SPIRALIA> TROCHOZOA> POLYZOA> ECTOPROCTA |
ECTOPROCTA LINKS
| The following information came from Margulis and Schwartz (1998), Buchsbaum (1938), Barnes (1980), Barnes (1984), Brusca and Brusca (2003), Hickman (1973), Meglitsch and Schramm (1991), Ruppert, et al. (2004), Pechenik (2005), Storer and Usinger (1965), and Tudge (2000). |
I. SYNONYMS: “bryozoans”, polyzoa.
II. NUMBER: >4,000 species known.
III. PHYLUM CHARACTERISTICS:
- A. Structure
- Symmetry: Bilateral
- Body Cavity: True coelom. The body cavity is bounded by the peritoneum, but it is formed neither as a schizocoel (text with tooltip) Schizocoelic (adj.) describes a type of true coelom that develops by the separation of mesoderm tissue. nor an enterocoel (text with tooltip) Enterocoelic (adj.) describes the type of true coelom that develops from pockets growing from the archenteron. . It seems to be formed de novo during metamorphosis of the larvae.
- Body Covering: Zooids secrete a gelatinous, horny or calcareous shell. The lophophore extends through an opening in the shell.
- Support: Hydrostatic skeleton.
- Digestive System: Feeding by ciliated tentacular organ called a lophophore. Food tube U-shaped. Mouth in the center and the anus outside of lophophore, a condition opposite from Entoprocta.
- Circulatory System: Absent.
- Locomotion: Animals sessile; tentacles covered with cilia to move water. Lophophores connected to retractor muscles.
- Excretory System: Absent.
- Nervous System: Simple anterior nerve ring from which nerves emanate.
- Endocrine System: None.
- B. Reproduction:
- C. Ecology: Most are marine, but some are freshwater. Colonial and sessile filter-feeders as adults.
| LITERATURE CITED Barnes, R. D. 1980. Invertebrate Zoology. Saunders College/Holt, Rinehart and Wilson, Philadelphia. Barnes. R. S. K. 1984a. Kingdom Animalia. IN: R. S. K. Barnes, ed. A Synoptic Classification of Living Organisms. Sinauer Associates, Inc., Sunderland, MA. pp. 129-257. Brusca, R. C. and G. J. Brusca. 2003. Invertebrates. Sinauer Associates, Inc. Sunderland, Mass. Buchsbaum, R. 1938. Animals Without Backbones, An Introduction to the Invertebrates. The University of Chicago Press. Chicago. Hickman, C. P. 1973. Biology of the Invertebrates. The C. V. Mosby Company. Saint Louis. Margulis, L. and K. Schwartz. 1998. Five kingdoms, an illustrated guide to the phyla of life on earth. 3rd Edition. W. H. Freeman and Company. New York. Meglitsch, P. A. and F. R. Schramm. 1991. Invertebrate Zoology. Oxford University Press, New York, Oxford. Nielsen, C. 2001. Animal Evolution: Interrelationships of the Living Phyla. 2nd Edition. Oxford University Press. Oxford. Pechenik, J. A. 2005. Biology of the Invertebrates. McGraw-Hill. New York. Ruppert, E. E. and R. D. Barnes. 1994. Invertebrate Zoology. 6th edition. Saunders. Ft Worth, TX. Ruppert, E. E., R. S. Fox, and R. D. Barnes. 2004. Invertebrate Zoology: A Functional Evolutionary Approach. Seventh Edition. Thomson, Brooks/Cole. New York. pp. 1-963. Storer, T. I. and R. L. Usinger. 1965. General Zoology. 4th Edition. McGraw-Hill Book Company. New York. Tudge, C. 2000. The Variety of Life, A Survey and a Celebration of all the Creatures That Have Ever Lived. Oxford University Press. New York. |
| By Jack R. Holt. Last revised: 01/29/2012 |
