Phylum

Echinodermata
“spiny-skinned organisms”
 Phylum Echinoderms
(Greek root word echino- meaning spiny;
Latin root word -derm meaning skin)
• Echinoderms are named for the spines or
bumps covering the outer surface of the
bodies of many of them.
• Examples of echinoderms include sea stars,
sea urchins, sea cucumbers, brittle stars, and
feather stars
• Adult echinoderms are found on the sea bed
at every ocean depth, from the intertidal
zone to the abyssal zone.
• The phylum contains about 7,000 living
species, making it the second-largest
grouping of deuterostomes, after the
chordates.
Although they may appear very different, echinoderms all have two major
defining characteristics that set them apart from all other animals:
1. a water vascular system and
2. five-sided radial symmetry.
• The water vascular system is a complex series of canals running
through an echinoderm’s body. It is a hydraulic pressure system
that aids in movement. The canals are water-filled tubes that open
to the outside through a skeletal plate called the madreporite
(from Latin root words madre meaning mother and pori meaning
small hole) lying on the surface near the anal opening. Water
enters and leaves the tubes through this sieve-like plate.
• Echinoderms are radically symmetrical, and the body is usually
divided into five parts or multiples of five. This five-sided radial
structure of echinoderms makes the body strong. A five-sided
skeleton is stronger than a four- or six-sided one because the line
of weakness cannot run directly across the body. Even a three-
sided body plan is weaker than a five-sided one.
Characteristics of Echinoderm
• An echinoderm moves by using many tube feet.
Tube feet are small, delicate projections attached
along the side of a water-filled tube called a radial
canal.
• In the echinoderms there are two surfaces. One is
the oral surface, where the mouth is and the tube
feet project. The tube feet on the oral surface are
limited to distinct regions called the ambulacral
regions. The other surface is the aboral, which
typically contains the anal opening of the
digestive system.
• Echinoderms are primarily carnivorous. In
order to feed, the stomach is extending inside out
thru the mouth. It secretes digestive enzymes and
carries the food back into mouth.
 Classes of
Echinoderms
The phylum echinoderms is
divided into five extant classes:
1. Asteroidea (sea stars),
2. Ophiuroidea (brittle stars),
3. Echinoidea (sea urchins and
sand dollars),
4. Crinoidea (sea lilies or
feather stars), and
5. Holothuroidea (sea
cucumbers).
• Key Points
• Sea stars have thick arms called ambulacra that are used for
gripping surfaces and grabbing hold of prey.
• Brittle stars have thin arms that wrap around prey or objects
to pull themselves forward.
• Sea urchins and sand dollars embody flattened discs that do
not have arms, but do have rows of tube feet they use for
movement.
• Sea cucumbers demonstrate “functional” bilateral symmetry
as adults because they actually lie horizontally rather than
stand vertically.
• Sea lilies and feather stars are suspension feeders.
Figure 2. Different members of Echinodermata include the (a) sea star of class Asteroidea, (b) the brittle
star of class Ophiuroidea, (c) the sea urchins of class Echinoidea, (d) the sea lilies belonging to class
Crinoidea, and (d) sea cucumbers, representing class Holothuroidea.