SYED BASHIR AHMAD HASHMI
11/18/24
[Document title]
Echinoderms: relationships to other animals; echinoderm characteristics;
1
classification up to class. Maintenance functions, regeneration, reproduction, and
development; further phylogenetic considerations.
Lesser Invertebrates: The lophophorates, entoprocts, cycliophores, and
chaetognaths
EVOLUTIONARY PERSPECTIVE
Introduction:
The phylum Echinodermata includes marine animals such as sea stars, sea
urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers.
Echinoderms are radially symmetrical as adults but are believed to have
evolved from bilaterally symmetrical ancestors.
Fossil records show that about 12 out of 18 classes of echinoderms have gone
extinct, yet the living members of this phylum remain significant in marine
ecosystems.
Many ancient echinoderms were likely suspension feeders, a trait seen in only
one class of modern echinoderms today.
Echinoderms are important in marine ecosystems, contributing to the biota
and playing key ecological roles.
Echinodermata Diversity:
Modern echinoderms are classified into several classes, including:
✓ Sea stars
✓ Sea urchins
✓ Sand dollars
SYED BASHIR AHMAD HASHMI 1
SYED BASHIR AHMAD HASHMI
11/18/24
[Document title]
✓ Sea cucumbers
2
Although the number of species in the phylum may seem to have declined,
three classes of echinoderms continue to flourish and contribute significantly
to marine biodiversity.
Phylum Hemichordata:
The phylum Hemichordata is less familiar and includes worm-like animals such
as pterobranchs and acorn worms.
Evidence of hemichordates can be found along shorelines, where coiled
castings (composed of sand, mud, and excrement) mark the openings of U-
shaped burrows.
Hemichordates are filter feeders, a trait that makes them ecologically
significant.
Echinodermata and Hemichordata as Deuterostomes:
Both Echinodermata and Hemichordata are part of the clade Deuterostomia.
Deuterostomes share several key embryological features:
✓ Radial, indeterminant cleavage in early development.
✓ The anus forms from the blastopore, while the mouth forms later.
✓ Enterocoelous coelom formation (except for vertebrate chordates).
These phyla are united by their shared larval morphology and tripartite
(three-part) coelomic cavities.
Evolutionary Relationships:
SYED BASHIR AHMAD HASHMI 2
SYED BASHIR AHMAD HASHMI
11/18/24
[Document title]
Echinoderms and Hemichordates are considered to have a common
3
ancestry, supported by genetic evidence from studies of Hox genes, rRNA
genes, and mitochondrial DNA.
Though adult echinoderms are radially symmetrical, evidence shows they
evolved from bilaterally symmetrical ancestors:
✓ Bilateral symmetry is seen in echinoderm larvae.
✓ Extinct forms of echinoderms were also bilaterally symmetrical.
The bilateral symmetry of other deuterostome groups further supports the
idea of common ancestry.
Deuterostomia Overview:
Deuterostomes are all coelomate animals, meaning they possess a body
cavity derived from the mesoderm.
These animals are characterized by specific embryological features such as
radial cleavage and the formation of the anus from the blastopore.
The relationship between echinoderms, hemichordates, and other
deuterostomes highlights the evolutionary link between these phyla.
PHYLUM ECHINODERMATA
General characteristics
1. (Echinos: Spines; derma: Skin)
2. Kingdom: Animalia
3. Habitat: These are exclusively marine
4. Grade of organization: organ system grade
5. Germ layer: triploblastic
SYED BASHIR AHMAD HASHMI 3
SYED BASHIR AHMAD HASHMI
11/18/24
[Document title]
6. Symmetry: Adults are radially symmetrical while the larvae are bilaterally
4
symmetrical.
7. Coelom: present ( coelomate)
8. Body without segmentation
9. The shape of the body is flat, star like, spherical or elongated.
10. Head is absent
11. Presence of tube feet
12. Presence of water vascular system
13. Mouth is present on ventral side while anus is present on dorsal side
14. Respiration: by papule, gills or clocal respiratory tree
15. Nervous system: absent, they are brainless organism.
16. Circulatory system: is reduced, heart is absent
17. Blood has no pigment.
18. Digestive system: complete
19. Excretory system: absent
20. Sexes: mostly dioecious, rarely monocious
21. Reproduction:
✓ Sexual: by gamatic fusion
✓ Asexual: regeneration
22. Fertilization: external
23. Development: indirect with characteristic larvae
Classification
It is divided into 5 classes:
SYED BASHIR AHMAD HASHMI 4
SYED BASHIR AHMAD HASHMI
11/18/24
[Document title]
1. Asteroidea
5
2. Ophiuroidea
3. Echinoidea
4. Holothuroidea
5. Crinoidea
Class 1 Asteroidea
Body is flattened star shaped with five arms
They possesses tube feet with a sucker
Presence of calcareous plates and movable spines.
Respiratory organ: papulae
Examples: Asterias (Star fish), Astropecten, Zoraster, Oreaster
Class 2 Ophiuroidea
Body is flat with pentamerous disc
They possess a long arm which is sharply demarcated from the central disc.
They possesses tube feet without sucker
Anus and intestine are absent
Respiratory organ: Bursae
Examples: Ophiderma, ophiothrix, Astrophyton, Amphuria, etc
Class 3 Echinoidea
Body is disc-like hemi-spherical
They are devoid of arms or free-rays.
They possesses tube feet with a sucker.
They possess compact skeleton and movable spines.
SYED BASHIR AHMAD HASHMI 5
SYED BASHIR AHMAD HASHMI
11/18/24
[Document title]
Examples: Echinus (Sea urchin), Cidaris, Arbacia, Echinocardium. Diadema
6
Class 4 Holothuroidea
Body is elongated in the oral-aboral axis and it is like cucumber.
They have no arms, spines and pedicellariae.
The tube feet are sucking type which is modified into tentacles and form a
circle around mouth.
Respiratory organ: cloacal respiratory tree
Examples: Cucumaria (Sea cucumber), Holothuria, Mesothuria, etc
Class 5 Crinoidea
Body is star shaped
Some of the forms were extinct and living forms.
Arms bifurcated, with two pinnules.
They have tube feet without suckers
Examples: Neometra, Antedon, Rhizocrinus, etc
SYED BASHIR AHMAD HASHMI 6