Xyloplax medusiformis | |
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Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Echinodermata |
Class: | Asteroidea |
Order: | Peripodida |
Family: | Xyloplacidae |
Genus: | Xyloplax |
Species: | X. medusiformis |
Binomial name | |
Xyloplax medusiformis Baker, Rowe & Clark, 1986 [1] | |
Xyloplax medusiformis is a sea daisy, a member of an unusual group of marine taxa belonging to the phylum Echinodermata. It is found at bathyal depths in waters around New Zealand. It was first described in 1986 by Baker, Rowe and Clark and is the type taxon of the genus Xyloplax . [1] Its generic name derives from the Greek "xylo" meaning wood and its specific name was chosen because its morphology superficially resembles that of a cnidarian medusa. [2]
Specimens of Xyloplax medusiformis were first discovered by accident when a submersible craft was being used to collect samples of wood on the deep sea bed in the South Pacific near New Zealand. Nine individuals were discovered from five locations. At the time these specimens puzzled researchers because of their lack of close affiliations to other echinoderms. Since then further members of the genus Xyloplax have been discovered on wood at bathyal depths, Xyloplax turnerae in the Atlantic Ocean off the Bahamas and Xyloplax janetae in the central Pacific Ocean. [3]
Xyloplax medusiformis was the first sea daisy to be described. It was clearly an echinoderm but at first it was considered to be sufficiently different from starfish, class Asteroidea, as to warrant it being placed in a new class of its own, the Concentricycloidea. The main difference was that the water vascular system of asteroids has a single ring canal circling the mouth connected to radial arms with short lateral side arms while that of the sea daisy had two ring canals surrounding the mouth, linked by five inter-ring canals. The concentric arrangement of plates on the surface of the sea daisy was novel and it had a single row of podia (tube feet) rather than the two rows typical of asteroids. [2] [4]
DNA sequencing was done on Xyloplax medusiformis and on a range of about twenty other varied species of echinoderm. It was found that X. medusiformis was indubitably a member of class Asteroidea and was a sister taxon to Rathbunaster in the order Forcipulatida. It is considered that X. medusiformis may be paedomorphic, retaining larval characteristics into adulthood. [4]
Xyloplax medusiformis is a small, flattened disc or umbrella-shaped invertebrate growing to a diameter of about 9 millimetres (0.35 in). The aboral (upper) surface is covered with flat plates arranged in concentric rings and there are short marginal spines projecting from the periphery. Internally the water vascular system consists of two super-oral rings and no radial canals. There is no stomach, gut or anus and it is thought that the velum (membrane) that covers the oral (lower) surface is equivalent to an everted stomach. There are five pairs of gonads, each associated with a fluid-filled sac. [5]
Xyloplax medusiformis is known from deep waters around New Zealand. It is found on pieces of decaying timber that have sunk to the seabed and are at least 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) beneath the surface. It is believed that it may feed on bacteria or the products of wood decay but very little is known of the biology of this echinoderm. [5] [6] Similar numbers of males and females have been discovered and it appears that there is a long phase of embryonic development during which time the females brood the embryos in their ovaries until they are nearly ready to undergo metamorphosis into juveniles. [3]
An echinoderm is any member of the phylum Echinodermata of marine animals. The adults are recognizable by their radial symmetry, and include starfish, sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers, as well as the sea lilies or "stone lilies". Adult echinoderms are found on the sea bed at every ocean depth, from the intertidal zone to the abyssal zone. The phylum contains about 7000 living species, making it the second-largest grouping of deuterostomes, after the chordates. Echinoderms are the largest phylum that has no freshwater or terrestrial members.
Crinoids are marine animals that make up the class Crinoidea, one of the classes of the phylum Echinodermata, which also includes the starfish, brittle stars, sea urchins and sea cucumbers. Those crinoids which, in their adult form, are attached to the sea bottom by a stalk are commonly called sea lilies, while the unstalked forms are called feather stars or comatulids, being members of the largest crinoid order, Comatulida.
Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea. Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to as brittle stars or basket stars. Starfish are also known as Asteroids due to being in the class Asteroidea. About 1,500 species of starfish occur on the seabed in all the world's oceans, from the tropics to frigid polar waters. They are found from the intertidal zone down to abyssal depths, 6,000 m (20,000 ft) below the surface.
Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea. They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. Sea cucumbers are found on the sea floor worldwide. The number of holothurian species worldwide is about 1,717 with the greatest number being in the Asia Pacific region. Many of these are gathered for human consumption and some species are cultivated in aquaculture systems. The harvested product is variously referred to as trepang, namako, bêche-de-mer or balate. Sea cucumbers serve a useful role in the marine ecosystem as they help recycle nutrients, breaking down detritus and other organic matter after which bacteria can continue the degradation process.
The water vascular system is a hydraulic system used by echinoderms, such as sea stars and sea urchins, for locomotion, food and waste transportation, and respiration. The system is composed of canals connecting numerous tube feet. Echinoderms move by alternately contracting muscles that force water into the tube feet, causing them to extend and push against the ground, then relaxing to allow the feet to retract.
A pedicellaria is a small wrench- or claw-shaped appendage with movable jaws, called valves, commonly found on echinoderms, particularly in sea stars and sea urchins. Each pedicellaria is an effector organ with its own set of muscles, neuropils, and sensory receptors and is therefore capable of reflex responses to the environment. Pedicellariae are poorly understood but in some taxa, they are thought to keep the body surface clear of algae, encrusting organisms, and other debris in conjunction with the ciliated epidermis present in all echinoderms.
Brittle stars, serpent stars, or ophiuroids are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea closely related to starfish. They crawl across the sea floor using their flexible arms for locomotion. The ophiuroids generally have five long, slender, whip-like arms which may reach up to 60 cm (24 in) in length on the largest specimens. From New Latin ophiurus, from Ancient Greek ὄφις + οὐρά.
Sea daisies make up an unusual group of deep-sea taxa belonging to the phylum Echinodermata, with three species described in the genus Xyloplax.
Mediaster aequalis is a species of sea star in the family Goniasteridae. It is native to the west coast of North America, ranging from Alaska to California. It is found in various habitats including beaches during very low tides, and at depths down to about 500 m (1,600 ft). Also known as the vermilion sea star, it is the type species of the genus Mediaster and was first described in 1857 by the American zoologist William Stimpson.
The Asterinidae are a large family of sea stars in the order Valvatida.
Eleutherozoa is a proposed subphylum of echinoderms. They are mobile animals with the mouth directed towards the substrate. They usually have a madreporite, tube feet, and moveable spines of some sort, and some have Tiedemann's bodies on the ring canal. All living echinoderms except Crinoidea belong here.
Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis is commonly known as the green sea urchin because of its characteristic green color. It is commonly found in northern waters all around the world including both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans to a northerly latitude of 81 degrees and as far south as Maine and England. The average adult size is around 50 mm (2 in), but it has been recorded at a diameter of 87 mm (3.4 in). The green sea urchin prefers to eat seaweeds but will eat other organisms. They are eaten by a variety of predators, including sea stars, crabs, large fish, mammals, birds, and humans. The species name "droebachiensis" is derived from the name of the town Drøbak in Norway.
The common sunstar or Crossaster papposus is a species of sea star belonging to the family Solasteridae. It is found in the northern parts of both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.
The Brisingids are deep-sea-dwelling starfish in the order Brisingida.
The Asterozoa are a subphylum in the phylum Echinodermata. Characteristics include a star-shaped body and radially divergent axes of symmetry. The subphylum includes the two classes Asteroidea, the starfish, and Ophiuroidea, the brittle stars and basket stars, and the extinct order Somasteroidea.
Xyloplax janetae is a Xyloplax of the family Xyloplacidae. It lives on the surface of wood sunken to abyssal depths.
Orthasterias is a genus of sea stars in the family Asteriidae. Orthasterias koehleri, the rainbow star or red-banded sea star, is the only species in the genus. It is found in the North Pacific Ocean.
Xyloplax turnerae is a sea daisy, a member of an unusual group of marine taxa belonging to the phylum Echinodermata. It has been found living on decaying timber in a deep oceanic trench in the Bahamas.
The Freyellidae are a family of deep-sea-dwelling starfish. It is one of two families in the order Brisingida. The majority of species in this family are found in Antarctic waters and near Australia. Other species have been found near New Zealand and the United States.
Neoferdina cumingi, also known as Cuming's sea star, is a species of starfish in the family Goniasteridae. It is native to the tropical Indo-Pacific region.