What do polychaete worms release?
Most polychaetes reproduce in a traditional marine fashion, by releasing eggs and sperm into the surrounding water.
Are marine worms polychaetes?
Polychaetes, which include rag worms, lugworms, bloodworms, sea mice, and others, are marine worms notable for well-defined segmentation of the body. Unique among annelids, most polychaete body segments bear a pair of parapodia (flat, lobelike outgrowths) with setae, or tiny bristles.
What do polychaete worms eat?
Most bristle worms are scavengers, but some are good predators, eating fishes and coral. Others like to eat algae. They are usually found hiding in reefs and rocky places. They crawl along the sea floor or the bottom of a tide pool, looking for something to eat.
Are polychaete worms plankton?
Most polychaetes are meroplankton, meaning that they are plankton only for their egg and larval stages. These 2-5 cm polychaetes feature several adaptations that are favorable for life in water column. First, they are highly transparent, allowing them to blend into the surrounding water.
What do polychaete larvae eat?
phytoplankton
In the planktonic stage, they feed on phytoplankton, and are themselves eaten by larger nekton organisms.
Does polychaete have Clitellum?
Polychaetes are the most diverse group of annelids and most live in the marine environment. They differ from earthworms and leeches in that they have appendages called parapodia and do not possess a clitellum.
What is the classification of polychaetes?
Polychaetes traditionally are separated into two large orders, ERRANTIA and SEDENTARIA (Audouin and Milne Edwards 1834, pp. 24-26). The separation is based on the development of the anterior end and the life habits of the included species.
How many orders are in the class Polychaeta (Annelida)?
ByKRISTIAN FAUCHALD ABSTRACT:A review of the classification of the Class Polychaeta (Annelida) with comments on the characters used to identify the different included taxa has led to the recognition of seventeen orders. All taxa down to the generic level are defined and a phylogenetic sequence suggested.
What are poly chaetes?
The poly- chaetes have been defined for the last seventy years as dioecious, marine annelids with parapodia bearing numerous setae. They also should have anterior appen- dages of various sorts (antennae, palps, tentacular cirri) and the gonadal ducts should be simple. These definitions work if some of the smaller groups are disregarded.