ECHINODERMS

PRESENTED BY
Group B
 ECHINODERMS spines

• Echinoderms are marine animals that

belong to the phylum Echinodermata.
• Echinos-Spiny ata-to bear
derma-
Skin
• Common examples include
i. starfish,
ii. sea urchins,
iii. sea cucumbers
iv. brittle stars
 Characteristics of Echinoderms
Characteristics of the phylum Echinodermata include:
1- Calcareous endoskeleton in the form of ossicles that
arise from mesodermal tissue
2-Adults with pentaradial symmetry and larvae with
bilateral symmetry
3-Water-vascular system composed of water-filled canals
used in locomotion, attachment, and/or feeding
4- Complete digestive tract that may be secondarily
reduced
5- Hemal system derived from coelomic cavities
6-Nervous system consisting of a nerve net, nerve ring, and
radial nerves
 Evolutionary Pattern of Echinoderms

• Most zoologists believe that echinoderms share a

common ancestry with hemichordates and chordates
because of the deuterostome characteristics that
they share
• Although echinoderm adults are radially symmetrical,
many zoologists believe that echinoderms evolved
from bilaterally symmetrical ancestors because of
bilaterally symmetrical echinoderm larval stages
 SYMMETRY OF
ECHINODERMS
• Modern adult echinoderms have a form
of radial symmetry, called pentaradial
symmetry, in which body parts are
arranged in fives, or a multiple of five,
around an oral-aboral axis
• However, when echinoderms are larvae
(babies), they have bilateral symmetry
—their bodies are divided into two
identical halves, like humans. But as
they grow into adults, they develop this
radial, star-like shape.
 WATER VASCULAR SYSTEM
• water-filled canal system with tube feet
• used for movement and other functions,
which starts as part of their body cavity.
• A main ring canal around the mouth
connects to the outside through a
structure called the madreporite, which
controls water flow and pressure.
• Tube feet are flexible parts of
echinoderms that help them move and
feed by extending and creating suction.
• When water is pushed into the tube foot,
it stretches out, allowing the echinoderm
to grip onto surfaces or sift through
CLASSIFICATION OF
ECHINODERMS
(TYPES)
 CLASS ASTEROIDEA
• The sea stars make up the class Asteroidea and
include about 1,500 species.
• They often live on hard substrates in marine
environment
• Diet: Sea stars feed on snails, bivalves,
polychaetes, corals, , and a variety of other food
items.
• Feeding Mechanism: The mouth opens to a short
esophagus and then to a large stomach. The
stomach has two parts:
1-Cardiac (oral) stomach: receives food and
can extend out of the body.
2-Pyloric (aboral) stomach: connects to
digestive glands called pyloric ceca in each arm
Gases Exchange and Waste Removal
Gases, nutrients, and metabolic wastes are transported
in the coelom by
i. diffusion
ii. by the action of ciliated cells lining the body cavity.
Sensory System:
• Sea stars sense light, chemicals, and touch.
• They have simple eyespots (ocelli) at the arm tips,
helping them detect light.
REPRODUCTION:
•Most sea stars are dioecious,
•Most sea stars reproduce sexually with external fertilization,
where eggs and sperm are released into the water.
• Most sea stars reproduce sexually with external fertilization,
where eggs and sperm are released into the water.
Some sea stars reproduce asexually by dividing the central
disk and regenerating the missing parts.
REGENERATION:
• Sea stars can regrow any part of a broken
arm.
• Some species can regenerate an entire body
from a broken arm if it includes part of the
central disk.
• Regeneration is slow, often taking up to a
year.
Some sea stars reproduce asexually by
dividing the central disk and regenerating the
missing parts.
 CLASS
OPHIUROIDEA
• Ophis-Snake + oura-Tail + oicles- in
form of
• 200 species, most diverse group of
Echinoderms
• Small size and have tendency to occupy cervics
on rocks and coral or cling to olgea
• Structure: Arms are long and are sharply set
off from central disc
• Tube Feet: Lacking suction disks and ampullae
• Neither dermal branchie nor Predicellarie are
present
 Locomotion
• Water vascular system is not used for locomotion
• Skeleton is modified to permit a unique form of grasping
and movement
• Superficial ossicles which originate on aboral surface
covers the lateral and oral surfaces
• During locomotion, the central disk is held above the
substrate, and two arms pull the animal along, while
other arms extend forward and/or trail behind the
animal.
Mouth and Digestive System:
• The mouth is in the center of the disk, with five triangular jaws for
chewing.
• Leads to a sac-like stomach but lacks an intestine, and the digestive
system does not extend into the arms.
Waste Removal:
• Ammonia is the primary waste, expelled by diffusion through the tube
feet and bursae.
Reproduction:
- Dioecious: males and females are separate individuals
- Males are typically smaller than females and may be carried by
females
- Gonads are associated with each bursa (membranous sac)
- Gametes are released into the bursa, where fertilization occurs
- Eggs may be shed externally or retained in the bursa for early
development
CLASS ECHINOIDEA
• Echinoidea includes sea urchins, sand dollars,
and heart urchins (about 1,000 species).
• Sea urchins live on hard surfaces, often
wedging into crevices.
• Sand dollars and heart urchins live in sandy
or muddy areas, burrowing just below the
surface.
• Tube feet have ampullae and suction cups, with
the system opening outside through a
madreporite.
• Feeding:
• Tube feet help catch organic particles that settle
on or pass over them.
• Sand dollars often live in groups for efficient
feeding and reproduction.
Movement:
• Sea urchins use spines to push against surfaces and tube
feet to pull.
• Sand dollars and heart urchins use their spines for burrowing
in soft substrates.
Feeding Mechanism:
• Oral tube feet surrounding the mouth manipulate food.
• A chewing apparatus, called Aristotle’s lantern, can be
projected from the mouth
REPRODUCTION
• dioecious,gonads on the internal body wall,
• release gametes into the water for external fertilization.
• Their larvae, called pluteus, spend months in the plankton
before transforming into adults.
CLASS HOLOTHUROIDEA
• The class Holothuroidea
sea cucumber + oeides, in the form of
• 1,500 species
• commonly called sea cucumbers.
• Sea cucumbers are found at all depths in
all oceans, where they crawl over hard
substrates or burrow through soft
substrates
• Body Structure:
• Sea cucumbers have no arms
• an elongated, flexible body with a
flattened underside that gives them
secondary bilateral symmetry.
• The tube feet near their mouth are
modified to act as tentacle-like structures.
WATER-VASCULAR SYSTEM:
• the water-vascular system is filled with coelomic fluid.
• includes a ring canal with five radial canals extending
toward the oral and aboral poles
• The digestive tract consists of a stomach; a long,
looped intestine; a rectum
REPRODUCTION
• dioecious, with a single gonad and external fertilization
leading to planktonic larvae.
• some reproduce asexually through transverse fission
and regeneration.
CLASS CRINOIDEA:
• Crinoids are marine invertebrates .
• Crinoids that remain attached to the
sea floor by a stalk in their adult form
are commonly called sea lilies
• the unstacked forms, and are called
feather stars.
DEVELOPMENT:
• start as small larvae
• Settle on the seafloor, undergo
changes to become adults, and grow
into beautiful creatures in various
marine environments.
REPRODUCTION:
• Crinoids are male or female (dioecious).
• have genital canals that produce gametes but do not have gonads.
• Crinoids can reproduce (sexually) either by releasing eggs and
sperm into the water . Fertilization happens outside the body, and
the fertilized eggs develop into larvae.
• Or by asexual methods like budding, allowing them to grow and
thrive in their environments.

FUNCTIONS:
1. They filter tiny particles from the water, helping control plankton
populations.
2. They take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide
3. They expel waste products, maintaining internal balance.
4. They can grow and regenerate lost body parts.