Talk:Echinoderm
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What is a machaerid? I find no mention of them anywhere else on the web. -phma
Search under machaeridia. This is one of those cases where using the full Latin version of the name might be better...
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[edit] Thanks!
This is a very useful page. Thanks for creating it
in this:
They have a simple radial nervous system that consists of a modified nerve net (interconnected neurons with no central organs); nerve rings with radiating nerves around the mouth extending into each arm; the branches of these nerves coordinate the movements of the animal. Echinoderms have a brain, although it is very small.
i'm not a biologist, but doesn't a brain count as a central nervous system organ?
No, it doesn't, it is a control organ.
The brain is in fact a part of the central nervous system, though it's odd to hear it refereed to as a "nervous system organ"
[edit] Classes
The page on sea daisies says they are now (as of 2005) considered to belong in the class Asteroidea. Shouldn't the reference to it as a seperate class be removed? -Echnin 03:05, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
It would be interesting and useful to discuss the classification of echinoderms in light of the debate about how closely related Asteroidea and Ophiuroidea, mentioned here http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Echinodermata.html and here http://tolweb.org/Echinodermata
[edit] What they eat
What exactly do they eat?
Sea-stars are largely carnivorous, eating a lot of bivalves. Sea urchins are generally herbiverous, feeding on kelp forests. Sea lilies are suspension feeders, sifting through water currents for microorganisms. Sea cucumbers generally eat soil and sift through it for detritous and miicrorganisms, and I believe sand dollars might do the same, but I'm not sure. Finally, I believe the diet of brittle-stars to be more varied, ranging from detritus to filter-feeding to active predation, although, again, I'm not positive on that. I'll try and do some better research and include it in the article. Hope this helps for the time-being. Cerealkiller13 19:54, 2 May 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Life Expectancy
How long do echinoderms live for? FREAK
Wouldn't this question be easier answered in the articles for specific species of echinoderms, since the amongst the many species, the life-span range could be huge? IanUK 13:38, 7 September 2006 (UTC)
