SYNOPTIC DESCRIPTION OF THE PHYLUM BRACHIOPODA (DUMERIL 1806)
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BRACHIOPODA 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 and Barnes (1991), Ruppert et al. (2004), Pechenik (2005), Storer and Usinger (1965), and Tudge (2000). |
I. SYNONYMS: lamp shells.
II. NUMBER: >350 species known. >12,000 fossil taxa.
III. PHYLUM CHARACTERISTICS:
- A. Structure
- Symmetry: Bilateral; within a bivalved shell.
- Body Cavity: True coelom which is either enterocoelic (text with tooltip) Enterocoelic (adj.) describes the type of true coelom that develops from pockets growing from the archenteron. or schizocoelic (text with tooltip) Schizocoelic (adj.) describes a type of true coelom that develops by the separation of mesoderm tissue. and extends into the tentacles of the lophophore and into the peduncle (text with tooltip) A peduncle is a pillar-like attachment organ in sedentary animals like brachiopods, crinoids, and barnacles. .
- Body Covering: Epidermis and mantle (text with tooltip) The mantle is the tissue that lies next to (and secretes) the shells of mollusks. Similar tissue underlies the shells of barnacles (arthropods) and brachiopods. . The body surrounded by two bilaterally symmetrical mineralized shells.
- Support: Hydrostatic skeleton and shell.
- Digestive System: Complete or blind tube. Feeding by ciliated tentacular organ called a lophophore that is often supported by a mineralized structure.
- Circulatory System: Open, no respiratory pigment.
- Locomotion: Animals sessile (text with tooltip) Sessile is sedentary or attached to a substrate. ; shells cemented or attached by a peduncle.
- Excretory System: 1-2 pairs of metanephridia.
- Nervous System: Simple anterior nerve ring from which nerves emanate.
- Endocrine System: None.
- B. Reproduction:
- Reproductive System: Most are separate, external fertilization.
- Development: Zygote develops by radial cleavage and form a protostomatous planktonic larva. Mesoderm develops enterocoelically, or a modification of that. No asexual reproduction.
- C. Ecology: Sessile, marine benthic organisms. 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: 01/26/2012 |
