the metazoa (differentiated multicellular animals) an overview of the major groups
TRANSCRIPT
How Do We Classify Life ?
Note: Kingdoms Eubacteria and Archaea formerly classified as Kingdom Monera
Conventional Classification of Major Phyla
Protista amoebas, foraminifera, radiolaria(presumed ancestors of Metazoa)
MetazoaPorifera spongesCnidaria/Coelenterata sea anemones, corals, sea pens, etc.Several “worm” phyla flatworms, annelids, etc.Brachiopoda brachiopods (“lamp shells”)Bryozoa bryozoans (“moss animals”)Mollusca snails, clams, cephalopods, etc.Arthropoda shrimps, crabs, insects, spiders, etc.Echinodermata starfish, sea urchins, crinoids, etc.Hemichordata acorn worms, graptolites, etc.Chordata lancelet, vertebrates, etc.
Pound QuartziteEdiacara Hills, north of Sydney, Australia
Metazoan Fossils Found in 1946
Discovery of classic “Ediacaran Fauna”(about 543 Ma)
Classification: lumped together as “medusoids”
Ostrich plume hydroid
NudibranchSea Pen
Were Vendian organismsEarly representatives of modern phyla ?
Adolph SeilacherConcept of “Vendozoa:
(Extinct phylum ? Probably not.)
soft bodied“quilted” structure (fluid-filled bags ?”Dependent on microbial mats“mat stickers”: fixed to seafloor, photosynthesizers“mat scratchers”: grazed on microbial mats
No carnivores !
Single celled Protista
Amoebas, Foraminifera, Radiolaria, etc.
How do You Make a Metazoan ?You Have to Start Out Simple.
Phylum Protista: the importance of choanoflagellates
A choanoflagellate is a protist with a collared cell and a flagellum
Some choanoflagellates form colonies
In such colonies, all individuals cooperate in moving their flagella, generating a current from which food particles can be extracted
Phylum Porifera (Sponges)Most Basic Metazoan Plan of Cowen
Single layer of tissue(collared cells)
Sponges also have collared cells, but these form a larger, integrated structure supported by rigid spicules or organic tissue. The differentiation of cells required the evolution of Hox Genes (genes that dictate differing
functions of cells)
Similar to some of the Ediacaran animals (remember the frond-like
creatures), sponges show a fractal organization
Ascon-grade sponge
Sycon-grade sponge(contains multiple “ascon” elements)
Leucon-grade sponge(contains multiple “sycon” elements)
Phylum Cnidaria / Coelenterata(Second Metazoan Body Plan of Cowen)
2 layers of tissue:ectoderm, endoderm
(probably resulted from invagination of ectoderm)
Phylum Cnidaria / Coelenterata
hard coralsHydra sea pens
soft corals
2 tissue layers: ectoderm, endoderm
sea anemonesjellyfish
Again, in the more complex forms of these simple organismsfractal geometry is apparent
Natural coral Computer-generatedfractal
triploblastic - 3 principal cell layers ectoderm, mesoderm, endoderm
Basic bilateral symmetry: fractal geometry breaks down, but tissue differentiation is incredible !
“Worms” or “Bilaterans”Most Complex Metazoan Body Plan of Cowen
The Coelom
The Ectoderm and Endoderm can be viewed as essentially solid, continuous layers.The Mesoderm is a little more complicated in that it actually lines a fluid-filled body cavity called the coelom. It is within the coelom that internal organs other than the gut develop (e.g. respiratory organs)
Coelom and Orifice Development;Protostomes
In the Protostomes (including molluscs, annelid worms and arthropods), the coelom develops directly from mesodermal tissue.
Another distinguishing characteristic to the protostomes is the development of the mouth before the anus in the young embryo
In the Deuterostomes (including echinoderms and chordates), the coelom develops from outpockets of the gut (endoderm)
Another distinguishing characteristic to the protostomes is the development of the anus before the mouth in the young embryo (blastophore)
Coelom and Orifice Development;Deuterostomes
The Evolution of the Coelom
The coelom may have initially evolved as a hydraulic device.
A bilateran with a coelom can squeeze its internal fluids with body muscles.
This squeezing bulges the body wall at the weakest point, and can be used as a “power drill” for burrowing (think about how a worm gets around).
The Evolution of the Coelom
In addition, this pumping could facilitate the transport of oxygen through the body without relying on the bathing of tissues in oxygenated water by diffusion through a thin ectoderm.
This means that animals could efficiently deliver oxygen throughout their bodies without compromising the effectiveness of their outer skins (ectoderm) or size.
This also meant that animals could evolve exoskeletons.
Lophotrochozoa: This group gets its confusing name from two related subgroups (linked by molecular phylogenetic studies):
1. The trochozoa - animals with distinctive, fuzzy, trochophore larvae, which include the phyla Platyhelminthes and the Mollusca.
2. The lophophora – animals which feed via a fringe of hollow tentacles, called a lophophore), which include the phyla Brachiopoda and Bryozoa.
trochophore larva
Lophophore (in brachiopod)
Flatworms do not have a coelom, and it is likely that something like a flatworm gave rise to more advanced coelomate bilaterans.
Lophotrochozoa: Phylum Platyhelminthes (flatworms)
Each class derived from HAM(hypothetical ancestral mollusc)
Key Features:gut
mantle cavityradula (rasping organ)
gillsfoot
Lophotrochozoa: Phylum Mollusca
Lophotrochozoa: Phylum Mollusca
Gastropods Bivalves
Cephalopods (squids, octopuses, cuttlefish, ammonoids)
Ecdysozoa: This group includes animals that moult their outer covering as they grow. Phylum Arthropoda is the primary phylum of this group.
Ecdysozoa: Phylum Arthropoda
scorpions
trilobites
InsectsSpidersCrabs
LobstersBarnacles
Etc.
Key Features:Jointed appendages
3-fold division of body(head, thorax, abdomen)
eurypterids
shrimps
Deuterostomia: Phylum Echinodermata (“spiny skin”)
Sea urchins Brittlestars
Starfish
Crinoids
Sea cucumbers
Key Features: 5-fold symmetry, calcite plates(but embryos are bilateral, suggesting a
bilateral ancestor)
Deuterostomia: Phylum Hemichordata
Pterobranchs
Acorn wormsGraptolites
Key Characteristics:3-part division of body
(preoral lobe, collar, trunk)PharynxGill slits
Stomochord
Deuterostomia: Phylum Chordata
Sea squirts and salps (Urochordates)
Amphioxus (lancelet)(Cephalochordates)
Key Features:notochord
dorsal nerve cord, pharynxgills slits
post-anal tail