Pseudocoelom:
Body cavity without mesodermal lining.
Filled with fluid or gelatinous material.
Functions in circulation and as a hydrostatic skeleton.
Muscular pharynx
Cuticle
Adhesive glands
NOT monophyletic
Ecdysozoa are part of the broader Animalia clade.
Other major clades include Protists, Basal Phyla, Spiralia, and Deuterostomia.
Loricifera: ~10 species, 50 mm
Priapula: ~16 species
Onychophora: ~110 species
Nematoda: ~25,000 species
Tardigrada: ~800 species
Arthropoda: ~1,000,000 species
Characterized by a cuticle that is molted.
Belong to the Cycloneuralia group.
Possess an eversible introvert with a stylet-bearing mouth.
Includes:
Nematoda
Nematomorpha
Kinorhyncha
Loricifera
Priapulida
Based on Dunn et al. 2008 research.
Phylogenomic sampling improves resolution of the animal tree of life, as published in Nature 452(7188): 745–749.
Among the most abundant animals, with approximately 5 billion per acre in fertile soil.
Lack cilia and possess amoeboid sperm.
Have longitudinal muscles only.
Exhibit high turgor pressure.
Most species are dioecious (separate sexes).
Several species are relevant to humans.
General Features:
Pharynx, intestine, anus.
Female Reproductive System:
Uterus, egg, ovary, lateral excretory canal, gonopore, renette, seminal receptacle, oviduct.
Male Reproductive System:
Testis, vas deferens, ejaculatory duct, cloacal aperture, seminal vesicle, rectal gland, spicule.
Cuticle Structure:
Annuli, epicuticle, cortex, medial zone, basal zone, hypodermal syncytium.
Cross-section:
Dorsal nerve, muscle process, cuticle, hypodermis, pseudocoelom, pharyngeal muscles, excretory canal, lateral epidermal cord, muscle cell, ventral epidermal cord, ventral nerve.
Juveniles are parasites of arthropods.
Lack a digestive system as adults.
Free-living adult phase lays eggs in water.
Cylindrical body with a spiny introvert used for burrowing.
External fertilization; eggs sink to the sea floor where larvae develop into adults.
Marine burrowers. Burrow with snouts
No cilia, but have many spiny scalids.
Dioecious; larvae molt into adult form.
Discovered in 1983.
Introvert and thorax can be retracted into the lorica (tough, platelike cuticle).
Ecdysozoan Phyla Notes