Statoblast
Statoblasts are a means to reproduce asexually by a method that is unique among bryozoans and enables a colony's lineage to survive the variable and uncertain conditions of freshwater environments. Statoblasts are masses of cells that function as "survival pods" rather like the gemmules of sponges. Statoblasts form on the funiculus (cord) connected to the parent's gut, which nourishes them. As they grow, statoblasts develop protective bivalve-like shells made of chitin Chitin (carbon, C8hydrogen, H13oxygen, O5nitrogen, N)n ( ) is a long-chain polymer of N-Acetylglucosamine, ''N''-acetylglucosamine, an amide derivative of glucose. Chitin is the second most abundant polysaccharide in nature (behind only cell .... When they mature, some types stick to the parent colony, some fall to the bottom, some contain air spaces that enable them to float, and some remain in the parent's cystid (outer casing) to re-build the colony if it dies. Statoblasts can remain dormant for considerab ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bryozoa
Bryozoa (also known as the Polyzoa, Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals) are a phylum of simple, aquatic animal, aquatic invertebrate animals, nearly all living in sedentary Colony (biology), colonies. Typically about long, they have a special feeding structure called a lophophore, a "crown" of tentacles used for filter feeder, filter feeding. Most Marine (ocean), marine bryozoans live in tropical waters, but a few are found in oceanic trenches and polar waters. The bryozoans are classified as the Stenolaemata, marine bryozoans (Stenolaemata), Phylactolaemata, freshwater bryozoans (Phylactolaemata), and Gymnolaemata, mostly-marine bryozoans (Gymnolaemata), a few members of which prefer brackish water. 5,869living species are known. Originally all of the crown group Bryozoa were colonial, but as an adaptation to a mesopsammal (interstitial spaces in marine sand) life or to deep-sea habitats, secondarily solitary forms have since evolved. Solitary species have been described i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Plumatella Repens 002
''Plumatella'' is a genus of bryozoa Bryozoa (also known as the Polyzoa, Ectoprocta or commonly as moss animals) are a phylum of simple, aquatic animal, aquatic invertebrate animals, nearly all living in sedentary Colony (biology), colonies. Typically about long, they have a spe ...ns from family Plumatellidae. Species Species: Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life: 2011 Annual Checklist by Bisby F.A., Roskov Y.R., Orrell T.M., Nicolson D., Paglinawan L.E., Bailly N., Kirk P.M., Bourgoin T., Baillargeon G., Ouvrard D. (red.) ; year: 2011 (Species 2000) retrieved 24-09-2012 * '' Plumatella agilis'' * '' [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sponge
Sponges or sea sponges are primarily marine invertebrates of the animal phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), a basal clade and a sister taxon of the diploblasts. They are sessile filter feeders that are bound to the seabed, and are one of the most ancient members of macrobenthos, with many historical species being important reef-building organisms. Sponges are multicellular organisms consisting of jelly-like mesohyl sandwiched between two thin layers of cells, and usually have tube-like bodies full of pores and channels that allow water to circulate through them. They have unspecialized cells that can transform into other types and that often migrate between the main cell layers and the mesohyl in the process. They do not have complex nervous, digestive or circulatory systems. Instead, most rely on maintaining a constant water flow through their bodies to obtain food and oxygen and to remove wastes, usually via flagella movements of the so-called " collar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bivalve Shell
A bivalve shell is the enveloping exoskeleton or mollusc shell, shell of a bivalve mollusc, composed of two hinged halves or ''valve (mollusc), valves''. The two half-shells, called the "right valve" and "left valve", are joined by a ligament and usually articulate with one another using structures known as "teeth" which are situated along the hinge line. In many bivalve shells, the two valves are symmetrical along the hinge line — when truly symmetrical, such an animal is said to be ''equivalved''; if the valves vary from each other in size or shape, ''inequivalved''. If symmetrical front-to-back, the valves are said to be ''equilateral'', and are otherwise considered ''inequilateral''. The bivalve shell not only serves as protection from predators and physical damage, but also for adductor muscles (bivalve), adductor muscle attachment, which can allow the mollusc to "swim" short distances by flapping the valves. The shell is secreted by a soft part of the molluscan body known ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chitin
Chitin (carbon, C8hydrogen, H13oxygen, O5nitrogen, N)n ( ) is a long-chain polymer of N-Acetylglucosamine, ''N''-acetylglucosamine, an amide derivative of glucose. Chitin is the second most abundant polysaccharide in nature (behind only cellulose); an estimated 1 billion tons of chitin are produced each year in the biosphere. It is a primary component of cell walls in fungi (especially filamentous and mushroom-forming fungi), the exoskeletons of arthropods such as crustaceans and insects, the radulae, cephalopod beaks and Gladius (cephalopod), gladii of molluscs and in some nematodes and diatoms. It is also synthesised by at least some fish and lissamphibians. Commercially, chitin is extracted from the shells of crabs, shrimps, shellfish and lobsters, which are major by-products of the seafood industry. The structure of chitin is comparable to cellulose, forming crystalline nanofibrils or whiskers. It is functionally comparable to the protein keratin. Chitin has proved useful ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bryozoology
Bryozoology is a branch of zoology specializing in Bryozoa, commonly known as moss animals, a phylum of aquatic invertebrates that live in clonal colonies. Organizations The International Bryozoology Association was founded in August 1968 by 16 zoologist Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the structure, embryology, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. Zoology is one ...s and paleozoologists in Stockholm. Journals * Annals of Bryozoology Bryozoologists * Anna Birchall Hastings * Samantha L.L. Hill * Eliza Jelly * Randolph Kirkpatrick * Raymond C. Osburn * Mary Dora Rogick * Ehrhard Voigt * Timothy S. Wood References Subfields of zoology {{Bryozoan-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Reproduction In Animals
Reproduction (or procreation or breeding) is the biological process by which new individual organisms – "offspring" – are produced from their "parent" or parents. There are two forms of reproduction: asexual and sexual. In asexual reproduction, an organism can reproduce without the involvement of another organism. Asexual reproduction is not limited to single-celled organisms. The cloning of an organism is a form of asexual reproduction. By asexual reproduction, an organism creates a genetically similar or identical copy of itself. The evolution of sexual reproduction is a major puzzle for biologists. The two-fold cost of sexual reproduction is that only 50% of organisms reproduce and organisms only pass on 50% of their genes.John Maynard Smith ''The Evolution of Sex'' 1978. Sexual reproduction typically requires the sexual interaction of two specialized reproductive cells, called gametes, which contain half the number of chromosomes of normal cells and are created by me ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |