Objective:
You will be able to discuss the differences between Phyla Gnathostomulida
and Rhynchocoela
Phylum Gnathostomulida:
This phylum contains about 80 species of tiny marine worms. These worms
are unique due to the
presence of a pair of hard jaws. They live mainly along the coastal shorelines
and use their hard jaws to
scrape fungi and bacteria from the particles.
Gnathostomulids have no coelem or pseudocoelem (refer to bilaterally
symmetrical animals page),
and there is only one opening from their digestive cavity.
Phylum Rhynchocoela:
Phylum Rhynchocoela includes about 650 species of acoelomate worms, commonly
called ribbon
worms or nemertines. They are characterized by a proboscis; a long, retractile,
slime-covered hollow
tube, which may be armed with a barb. They use the proboscis to capture
prey. Some inject a paralyzing
poison into their prey.
Unlike the digestive cavity of cnidarians and flatworms, ribbon worms have
a one-way digestive
track beginning with a mouth and ending with an anus. The two-opening tract
is much more efficient than
the one opening arrangment because eating can be continuous and various
segments of the tract can
become specialized for different stages of digestion.
For reproduction in ribbon worms, fertilization occurs externally. Also,
asexual reproduction may
result by fragmentation of the body and regeneration of whole worms from
the parts.
Gnathostomulida:
Rhynchocoela:
Thanks
to the sites: http://phylogeny.arizona.edu/tree/eukaryotes/animals/nemertea/nemertea.html
and
http://rainbow.ldeo.columbia.edu/ees/life/slides/oldec/gnathostomulida.html
for the pictures.