Phylum Echinodermata

Introduction
Echinoderms are spiny skinned animals
Characteristics
Spiny skin
5 part radial symmetry
Internal skeleton
Water vascular system
Tube feet

Introduction cont.
Shared characteristics with us.
Internal skeleton
Certain stages of development
similar to ours.

Introduction Continued
Diverse living areas
Starfish and sand dollars live in
shallow water.
Others live in coral reefs or the floor
of the ocean.

Form and Function

Feeding
Carnivores- include many species of starfish

Tube feet pry open shells of bivalves

Flips stomach inside out
Digestive juices flow out
Begin to digest prey inside the preys
own shell,

Form and Function Continued

Feeding continued
Stomach comes back to normal once
finished
Leaves empty bivalve shell behind.
They eat: clams, scallops, snails,
corals and other echinoderms.

Form and Function Continued

Feeding continued:
Filter Feeders
Sea lillies, basket stars, brittle stars
Use tube feet located on flexible
arms to capture plankton that float
by on water currents.

Brittle Star

Basket Star

Sea Lilly

Form and Function cont.

Feeding continued
Herbivores- Sea Urchins
Scrape algae from rocks using
their jaw.

Sea Urchin w/ Spines

Sea Urchin without Spines

Form and Function

Feeding continued
Detritus Feeders- Sea cucumbers
Move like a bulldozer across the
ocean floor.
Take in sand and ocean soil.
Digest organic materials then rest
passes out of organism.

Different Species of Sea

Cucumber

Form and Function cont.

Respiration
Tube FeetDiffusion of CO2
and O2

Form and Function cont.

Respiration continued
Skin Gills- some species have, look like
bumps.

Form and Function cont.

Excretion
Solid waste- feces exits through the
anus (except Brittle Stars, their feces
exits through the mouth)
Excrete ammonia through the tube
feet or gills.

Form and Function

Response
They do not have a head, they have a
primitive nervous system.
Nerve ring that surrounds the mouth,
radial nerves that connect to the rest of the
body.
Eyespots located at the tip of each arm.

Form and Function

Protection
Spiny skin not very protective.
Adaptations:
Basket stars, feather stars, spiny sea
urchins move very slow
Hide under rocks
Some fish will turn echinoderms over to
expose their soft underside and chow
down.

Form and Function

Movement
Tube feet are attached to plates of the
exoskeleton with long skinny muscles to
help them move.
Sand dollars and sea urchins skeleton is
fused together so spines are attached to
skleton which are used to creep along.

Form and Function

Movement continued
Brittle stars and Feather stars have flexible
joints so they can use their arms for
locomotion
Feather stars swim for short distances.
Sea cucumbers crawl like worms because
endoskeleton is very reduced.

Form and Function

Reproduction
Most are separate sexes, some are
hermaphroditic
External fertilization

Form and Function

Regeneration
If a starfish is pulled into pieces each
piece can grow into a new animal.
Used to cause problems for
fishermen- would cut up when they
were in their nets then wonder they
were twice as many when they came
back.

Echinoderm Classes
Only found in marine environments- no
freshwater or terrestrial.
Starfish
Common starfish is also known as (aka)
Sea Stars
5+ arms
Carnivores, prey on bivalves

Leather Sea Star,

Dermasterias imbricata

Echinoderm Classes
Brittle Stars
Tropical seas, especially coral reefs
Longer, flexible arms
Shed 1 or more arms when attacked
or just run away.
Filter & detritus feeders
Hide during the day, hunt at night.

Echinoderm Classes
Sea Urchins & Sand Dollars
Eat large amounts of algae
Heart Urchins and Sand Dollars hide in
burrows.
Sea urchins wedge themselves in rock
crevices during the day and come out at
night.
Sharp spines- some have poison sacks
to make them painful.

Sea Urchin

Echinoderm Classes
Sea Cucumber
Look like bumpy moving pickles.
Detritus feeders
Found on ocean floor- very deep
One particular sea cucumber releases a
glue-like substance when they are
attacked. Causes the attackers to become
stuck in a huge ball of glue.

Echinoderm Classes
Sea Lilies and Feather Stars
Filter feeders
50 plus long feathery arms
Ancient species
Not common, but used to be (Found in the
fossil record)

Place in the World

Starfish control population of bivalves.
Sea urchins control algae population.
Sea urchin eggs, sea cucumbers are
considered delicacies in some parts of
the world.
Useful research subjects.