UROCHORDATA
Dr. Nagabhushan Charantimath MSc., PhD, BEd, DEM, PRIME (USA)
Assistant Professor (II), Dept of Zoology,
Vijayanagara Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Ballari, Karnataka, 9880121090,
nagabhushancm@[Link] INDIA
UROCHORDATA
Commonly known as “Sea Squirts” / “Tunicates”
In 1845, Carl Schmidt first identified the presence in the test of some
Ascidians of a substance very similar to cellulose, he called it
"tunicine“
Hall and co-workers have detected cellulose in the dermis of ox and humans
UROCHORDATA
They are solitary or colonial
Colonies show some degree of integration
The zooids are interconnected by stolons
Other species have the zooids growing closer together in a tuft or
clustered together and sharing a common base.
The most advanced colonies involve the integration of the zooids into a
common structure with buccal siphons and a single central atrial
siphon
UROCHORDATA
The tunic is a thick, usually opaque, protecting their barrel-shaped bodies
from predators.
The tunic is composed of proteins and complex
carbohydrates and includes tunicin.
The thickness between species varies-may be tough, resembling
cartilage or thin and delicate or transparent and gelatinous.
Secreted by epidermis
UROCHORDATA
There are 3 classes
Class 1. Ascidiacea: largest class of tunicates
2. Thaliacea (free-swimming tunicates)
3. Larvaceae(free-swimming tunicates)
Ascidia: A pitcher-shaped or bottle-shaped part or organ, such
as the hollow tubular leaf of a pitcher plant.
UROCHORDATA
Ascidia: A pitcher-shaped or bottle-shaped part or organ,
such as the hollow tubular leaf of a pitcher plant.
(Covered by ciliate
cells/endostyle)
Tunicates are filter feeders; plankton is trapped in a sheet of mucus
and cilia later direct the food-laden mucus to the stomach
Feeding
Circulatory system
Tunicates have a well-developed heart and circulatory system
The blood vessels are simple connective tissue tubes and there are
several types of corpuscle
Blood is pale green coloured, Blood cells-Vanadocytes
Some species of tunicate concentrate lithium, iron, niobium and
tantalum which may serve a similar function
Excretion
Tunicates lack the kidney-like metanephridial organs typical of
deuterostomes
Most have no excretory structures but rely on the diffusion of
ammonia
Reproduction
Most tunicates are hermaphrodites and have a single
ovary and testis, either near the gut or on the body wall
They avoid self fertilisation by having the eggs and sperms
mature at different times.
Sperms are released into the sea but the eggs are retained
within the body where they are fertilised by sperm brought in
with incoming water.
Reproduction
The eggs are brooded within the body until they hatch
Some larval forms appear very much like primitive chordates
with a notochord (stiffening rod).
Reproduction
The larval form is not capable of feeding, though it may
have a rudimentary digestive system, and is only a dispersal
mechanism.
Cerebral ganglion, which controls movement
Thaliacea
Characterised by free-swimming, pelagic individuals
They are all filter feeders using a pharyngeal mucous net to catch
their prey
Three types of tunicates fall under this class.
1) Salps 2) Pyrosomes 3) Doliolids
Life cycle of salpa and doliolum
Thaliacea
1) THE SALPS 2) Pyrosomes 3) Doliolids
Salp and its life cycle
Salps are barrel-shaped, free-floating tunicates
They move by contracting their bodies, which causes water to
pump through their gelatinous bodies.
They strain the pumped water through their internal feeding
filters, feeding on phytoplankton.
Life cycle
It is dimorphic exhibits alternation generation and
superficially resemblance Doliolum.
Its solitary phase is asexual Oozooid, while
gregaria phase is sexual gonozooid or
blastozooid.
Oozooid
The solitary asexual individual or oozooid is prism like or
quadrangular , bilaterally symmetrical and having
branchial (mouth) and atrial (anus) at opposite ends.
Test is thin and transparent.
Except the 1st and 9th muscle bands completes and forms
sphincter, the remaining 7 muscle bands are incomplete
ventrally.
The mouth bounded by dorsal and ventral lips leads in to dorsal
lamina forming a ciliated gill bar.
The pharynx communicates laterally on either side with the atrium through a single
gill slit.
Oesophagus, stomach, intestine and pyloric gland forms a nucleus.
Heart lies mid-ventrally behind the endostyle.
An eye spot (ocellus) present above the nerve ganglion.
A complex process a stolon arises between heart and endostyle, projects near the
atriopore and forms a chain of buds which break off to become the
gregaria sexual gonozoid or blastozoid.
Blastozoid
The sexual phase or blastozoid differ from the asexual oozooid in being
smaller and
asymmetrical,
having fewer muscle bands,
without stolon and test processes,
and having gonads (ovary and testis).
Ovary produces ovum at a time. Fertilization and
a single
development are internal and a tailed larval stage is
absent.
Embryo is nourished by diffused placenta and directly developed
into an asexual oozooid with stolon which escape into the surrounding
water.
Salpa thus viviparous.
In course of time the oozooid develops a chain of blastozooid from
its stolon.
Colonial Salp
In the solitary life history phase, an oozoid reproduces asexually,
producing a chain of tens or hundreds of individual zooids by budding along the
length of a stolon.
The aggregate individuals are known as blastozooids and remain
attached together while swimming and feeding and growing
larger.
Thaliacea
1) THE SALPS 2) Pyrosomes 3) Doliolids
Doliolids and its life cycle
Doliolids are free-floating filter feeders.
They force water to flow through their bodies to gather plankton.
The test is transparent and delicate,
Unlike the ascidians, the oral and atrial apertures are at opposite
extremeties.
Doliolids
The gonozooid is hermaphrodite BUT the eggs are FERTILISED by sperm
from ANOTHER INDIVIDUAL.
The gonozooid is viviparous and the egg develops into a free-swimming,
tadpole-like larval stage.
The larva undergoes metamorphosis in the water column into an oozooid,
which produces other zooids (Nurse stage, develops a tail of zooids produced by budding
asexually.)
Trophozooids, have a nutritional function
Phorozooids, have a transport function
DOLIOLUM Life cycle in detail
Doliolids: GONOZOID
two distinct GENERATIONS Solitary sexual
Life cycle includes
gonozoid alternating with a colonial asexual oozooid.
GONOZOOID is cask or barrel shaped, 1 to 1.5 cm long,
having wide branchial and atrial apertures.
10 to 12 lobes lodging sense organs.
Transparent & thin Test through which internal organs are visible.
The mantle contains 7 to 8 muscle
bands (cyclomyria).
Terminal one serving as sphincters.
Doliolids: GONOZOID
The animal moves by jet propulsion drving out water through atrial
aperture by contraction of muscles.
The spacious pharynx perforated posteriorly by dorsal and ventral rows of gill
slits.
Dorsal lamina is absent but endostyle.
A dorsal neural ganglion and subneural gland lie behind 3rd muscle band.
Heart lies mid-ventrally posterior to the endostyle.
Testis lies near the endostyle and ovary behind it. Ovary matures first.
Fertilization external.
Zygote develops into tailed larva.
Doliolids: GONOZOID
Cleavage is holoblastic. Gastrulation occurs in embolic fashion.
A tailed tadpole larva emerges after gastrulation. The tailed larva
represents the asexual stage. The tail is comparatively short and
acts as the locomotors organ.
Metamorphosis of the tadpole larva starts before the larva becomes
fixed to the substratum.
tail is gradually lost and the
The process of metamorphosis is shown in
tadpole larva is transformed into a ‘Nurse Zooid’ or
‘OOZOOID’ having a cadophore on the posterodorsal side and a
ventral stolon.
Doliolids: OOZOOID
It resembles the gonozooid in form (barrel like) and anatomy, but
lacks gonads.
Branchial and atrial apertures have 10 to12 lobes respectively and
muscle bands are 9.
Gill-slits are few but large.
The most characteristic features are two
processes – a large
postero-dorsal cadophore, and small ventral stolon arising behind
5th muscle band.
Doliolids: OOZOOID-TROPHOZOOID
The stolon gives rises to a large numbers of probuds which crawl
over body to reach the cadophore on which they are arranged
into 3 rows.
The buds of two lateral rows are converted into trophozooids
(gastrozooids) they are sterile & remain attached with the parent
colony to SERVE for its nutrition and respiration.
Doliolids: OOZOOID-PHOROZOOID,
GONOZOOID
Some buds of median row develops into phorozooids. These
are also sterile but detach from parent colony.
They serve as nurse for other median buds which become attached their
stalk and develop into sexual gonozooid.
After attaining sexual maturity the gonozooid break off to
become independent solitary phase.
Thus life history of Doliolum exhibits polymorphism and
alternation of generation.
Doliolids
Numerous buds are developed on the postero-dorsal side and a ventral
stolon.
The buds have the power of migration and they become
localised on the cadophore in rows.
The cadophore becomes elongated and most of the buds
transform into zooids. The zooids present on the cadophore are divided
into two major types—the lateral and median zooids.
The lateral zooids are converted into the TROPHOZOOIDS.
median zooids develop into the PHOROZOOIDS
On the stalk of phorozooids a few buds remain attached which ultimately develop into the
GONOZOOIDS
The biology of the zooids
(1) Trophozooids: These sessile zooids are nutritive and
respiratory in functions. These are sterile and remain
attached with parent.
(2) Phorozooids: These are also sterile, but are set free in
water.
(3) Gonozooids: The gonozooids are sexual forms, which
are carried and nursed by the phorozooids until sexual
maturity is attained. After attaining sexual maturity, the
gonozooids become detached from the phorozooids and
lead independent free-swimming life.
Thank you
Discussion time
Dr. Nagabhushan Charantimath MSc., PhD, BEd, DEM, PRIME (USA)
Assistant Professor (II), Dept of Zoology,
Vijayanagara Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Ballari, Karnataka, 9880121090,
nagabhushancm@[Link] INDIA