Annelida

Annelidasegmented worms
(Also: ringed worms)
 Table of contents
Description
01 WHAT?

Habitat
02 WHERE

Characteristics
03 WHICH?

Means of reproduction or propagation

04 HOW?
 Table of contents
Environmental Importance
05 DO THEY HAVE?

Parts and Fuction

06 WHAT AND WHICH?

Benifits
07
IS IT REALLY POSSIBLE?
 Whoa!
WHAT IS ANNELIDA? IS IT ANIMAL?
WHAT KIND OF ANIMAL? HAVE YOU
SEEN AN ANNELIDA?
 INTRODUCTION
In this presentation you’ll learn about
annelids. The presenter hope that you will
gain knowledge about the certain topic. Now
let’s start!
 01
Description
 What is annelids?
● Annelida is a phylum of segmented worms
with a true body cavity (coelom) separating gut
from body wall. Annelids probably evolved
from unsegmented coelomates which became
segmented to allow continuous, active
burrowing. In turn they gave rise to arthropods.
Although annelid mating systems vary quite
widely, most Canadian oligochaetes, leeches
and many polychaetes are hermaphroditic. The
phylum is divided into 3 classes: Polychaeta
(mainly marine worms); Oligochaeta (
earthworms and many freshwater worms); and
Hirudinea (leeches).
 FACTS ABOUT THESE SPECIES
Annelids are mostly vermiform (worm-shaped), with an anterior
(frontal) mouth preceded only by the prostomium, bearing
sensory organs; the anus is posterior. Most have bristles (chaetae
or setae), usually arranged in 4 groups on each segment.

Worms were the first animals to evolve closed blood vessels,

some of which have become enlarged to act as pumps or
simple hearts. Very simple eyes and some tentacles may form
a head. Some worms bear gills on various body parts, but most
breathe through moist skin.
 02
Habitat
Know where annelida lived
 Annelida
What are the four habitats of
Annelids are found worldwide in
annelids?
all types of habitats:
• Annelids are bilaterally
• oceanic waters
• fresh waters symmetrical, triploblastic
• invertebrates that inhabit a
damp soils
wide diversity of habitats,
Most polychaetes live in the
including marine environments
ocean, where they either float,
such as tidal zones,
burrow, wander on the bottom, or
hydrothermal vents, lotic and
live in tubes they construct; their
lentic freshwater habitats, and
colours range from brilliant to
moist terrestrial habitats
dull, and some species can
produce light.

• Are annelids aquatic or terrestrial?

Phylum Annelida includes segmented worms. These animals are found in marine, terrestrial, and
freshwater habitats, but a presence of water or humidity is a critical factor for their survival,
especially in terrestrial habitats.
 03
Characteristics
Know more about annelids!
 Annelida Characteristics
● They have a long and segmented body

● Annelids are bilaterally symmetrical..

● They are triploblastic.

● The body is covered with a thin cuticle.

● They are coelomate. A body cavity or coelom is present.

● Their body appears red due to the presence of haemoglobin.

● Also, they exhibit organ system grade of organisation, showing organ differentiation.

● Excretory and nervous systems are present.

 Annelida Characteristics
● The digestive system is complete and developed.

● Respiration happens through the general body surface.

● These invertebrates have a true closed circulatory system

● Sexes may be separate or united, wherein they are called hermaphrodites.

● Fertilization can be internal or external.

● They have parapodia and chitinous setae, used for locomotion.

 04
Means of reproduction
or propagation
 Annelids Reproduction
Most species of annelids can reproduce both asexually and sexually.
However, leeches can reproduce only sexually. Asexual reproduction may
occur by budding or fission. Sexual reproduction varies by species.

• In some species, the same individual produces both sperm and eggs. But
worms mate to exchange sperm, rather than self-fertilizing their own
eggs. Fertilized eggs are deposited in a mucous cocoon. Offspring emerge
from the cocoon looking like small adults. They grow to adult size
without going through a larval stage.
• In polychaete species, there are separate sexes. Adult worms go through a
major transformation to develop reproductive organs. This occurs in
many adults at once. Then they all swim to the surface and release their
gametes in the water, where fertilization takes place. Offspring go
through a larval stage before developing into adults.
 05
Environment
Importance
Know the importance of annelida
in our environment
Environmental Importance?
As Charles Darwin pointed out well over 100 years ago, annelids
are enormously important to the Earth’s ecosystems. Without
earthworms, it is likely that the earth’s soil would not be capable
of sustaining the growth of human food and the food of many
other plant-eating species. How is it that these small animals are
so important for plant growth? Earthworms essentially form the 
organic compounds that make soil suitable for vegetation. They
do this by digesting dead plant matter and microorganisms, many
of which feed on dead animal carcasses, and converting them into
simpler molecules that can be absorbed and used by living plants.
Earthworm feces are referred to as worm casts, and they are
extremely rich in plant nutrients like nitrogen and phosphates.
The amount of organic material that is processed by earthworms
is so large that it is difficult to imagine. 
 Environmental Importance

Another way that earthworms contribute to soil health is through

their burrowing actions described in the previous section. The
extensive tunnel networks produced by earthworm burrowing
allow water and oxygen to penetrate the soil more efficiently.
Earthworms also form the bottom of the food chain for a number
of organisms. They are a source of food for many birds,
mammals, and other invertebrates. Other annelids, such as the
lugworms of the class Polychaetae, contribute to human food
sources as well. We use these species as bait to catch fish.
Although they probably are not organisms that you think about
very often, annelids are undoubtedly essential to the existence of
human life and the lives of many other species.
 03
Parts and Function
Know more about annelids!
 Overall Body Organization
Like flatworms and roundworms, annelids are bilaterally symmetrical triploblasts. Recall that
bilateral symmetry means that they can only be divided into two equal halves by a cut along the
middle of the anterior-posterior, or front-back, axis. Triploblasts develop from three embryonic
cell layers: the ectoderm, which forms the outer surface of the animal and the nervous system,
the mesoderm, which forms the middle layers of the organism, including muscle and circulatory
tissues, and the endoderm, which forms the gut. Similar to mollusks, annelids are protostomes.
Recall that protostomes exhibit spiral, determinant cleavage in their early embryonic cell
divisions, and the blastopore ultimately forms the mouth.

The body of an annelid is divided into three main regions: the prostomium, the trunk, and the
pygidium. These are shown in Figure below.

The three main regions of the annelid body.

 Overall Body Organization
• The prostomium is the segment at the anterior, or front, end of the worm. The mouth usually lies just behind
this segment. The region of the body surrounding the mouth is called the peristomium. Peristomium means
“around the mouth,” and this region makes up the back section of the head.
• The trunk includes the many segments that make up the bulk of the worm body and is located between the
prostomium and the pygidium. The pygidium is the posterior, or back, end of the worm and houses the anus.
Annelids grow by adding segments to the region just in front of, or anterior to, the pygidium. Segmented worms
are also capable of regrowing regions of the worm that are broken off. This process is called regeneration, and
the ability to regenerate depends on how much of the worm and what part of the body has been lost.
• The coelom, mentioned earlier, runs the length of the worm and is separated into segments by thin layers of tissue
called septa (singular septum). Organs that span these compartments, such as the digestive tract and major blood
vessels, pass through the septa. A cross section of an annelid body segment, showing the organization of various
internal organs, is shown in Figure below. These organ systems will be discussed in the next several sections.
• The skin of annelids is protected by a cuticle that is thinner than the cuticle of the ecdysozoans and does not need
to be molted for growth. Chitinous hairlike extensions, anchored in the skin and projecting from the cuticle, called
chaetae, are present in every segment in most groups. The chaetae are a defining character of annelids.
A cross-section of an annelid body (polychaete). This diagram shows the arrangement of organs within
each segment. It also highlights the detailed architecture of the parapodium, which is divided into a
number of regions: the parapod, notopod, neuropod, and several sensory projections called cirri
(singular cirrus). The space between the intestine and the muscles of the body wall is the coelom, or
body cavity.
 Head Structure
There is a lot of variation in the head region among annelids. In
general, species that have a sedentary or non-predatory,
burrowing existence have simple heads that cannot be
distinguished from their back ends unless you look very
carefully. They do not usually have complex sensory organs
because they really have no need for them. In contrast, active
predatory annelids can have fairly complex head regions with
eyes, tentacles, and sensory projections called palps and
antennae. Predatory polychaetes also have jaws with teeth made
up of a carbohydrate substance called chitin.

Exceptions to this general trend of simpler head structures for sedentary worms are found in a number of
sedentary, marine polychaete species that have long, feathery feeding tentacles extending from their heads, as
discussed earlier. While the worm’s body usually remains burrowed or enclosed in a tube-shaped
structure that will be discussed in a later section, these tentacles emerge from the burrow and spread out into
the water to trap food particles.
Closed Circulatory System
Annelids have a closed circulatory system. In a closed circulatory
system, blood is always contained within blood vessels. The annelid
circulatory system includes two major blood vessels that run the
length of the worm: the dorsal blood vessel along the top and a
ventral blood vessel along the bottom. The ventral vessel transports
blood from the head to the tail region, and the dorsal vessel
transports blood from the tail to the head. These two vessels are
connected to each other within each segment by two smaller blood
vessels. There are also many small capillaries that extend into the
skin of the worm, and this is where gas exchange occurs in most
species. Annelids do not have a central, well-developed heart, and
usually the muscular dorsal blood vessel functions to pump blood
through the circulatory system. In some species there may be a
number of muscular blood vessels that function as blood-pumping
hearts. Earthworms have five of these muscular, heart-like vessels
located in the front region of the body
 Excretion
The annelid excretory system is made up of long tubular organs called nephridia. Many species have a
pair of nephridia in each segment. The nephridia each have an opening called a nephrostome that takes
in body fluids from the coelom, and an exit pore in the body wall called the nephridiopore releases
waste from the worm. As body fluids travel through the nephridia, both nutrients that are useful to the
organism and water are reabsorbed, leaving behind concentrated waste fluid that is excreted through the
nephridiopore. The nephridia are lined with short, hair-like projections called cilia that beat repeatedly
to maintain the flow of fluid through the organ.

Locomotion
Non-sedentary annelids have several means of locomotion. Aquatic polychaetes can use their paddle-
shaped parapodia to swim. Longitudinal muscles that run along the body wall from the front to the back
are surrounded by a sheath of circular muscles. Annelids crawl or burrow by combining the actions of
these muscles and the bristles, or setae, on the outside of the body. The organism first extends forward
and then anchors the front end of the body to a solid surface using the bristles. With the front of the
body immobilized, the worm contracts muscles to bring the rear end closer to the front end. The front
end is then released and extended forward again while the rear end becomes anchored so that it does not
slip backward as the body extends forward.
 Digestive System
The digestive system of annelids shows a lot of variation depending on the feeding habits of the
species. All species have a complete digestive tract that begins with a mouth and ends with an anal
opening. The space in each segment around the digestive system is part of the coelom. The digestive
system is generally organized in the following order:

Mouth
• The mouth has a fairly simple
structure in species that consume
decaying matter or filter feed,
whereas predators and blood-
sucking parasites have
modifications such as jaws with
teeth and a tubular sucking organ,
mentioned earlier, called a
proboscis. On a side note, the
proboscis is also the term used for
the trunk of elephants, so there is
quite a large range of proboscis
structures.
Pharynx • An organ that connects the
• The pharynx is the
compartment that
connects the mouth to the
esophagus.
Stomach
• holds the food and mixes
it with acid and enzymes
that continue to break the
food down into a liquid
or paste.
Esophagus
pharynx to the intestine. The
esophagus may contain a
crop and gizzard in some
annelids. The crop is an
extension of the esophagus
and a food storage organ that
sits in between the esophagus
and the gizzard
 Digestive System

Intestine
• the intestine extends from the
gizzard posteriorly to the anus
at the tip of the worm.
Anus
• Together their jobs are to detect rectal
contents, whether they are liquid, gas or solid,
and then control when stool should and
shouldn't be excreted
 Nervous System
Annelids have a central brain located in the head region. The brain is connected to a ventral
nerve cord that runs through the segments along the bottom side of the body. Several
components of the annelid nervous system are shown in Figure above. Within each segment,
there is a ganglion (plural ganglia) that is a concentrated region of nerve tissue located on the
ventral nerve cord. Nerve fibers extend into each segment from their ganglion. There is also a
pair of ganglia located near the pharynx called the sub-pharyngeal ganglia. These ganglia
connect to the brain using special nerve fibers called the circum-pharyngeal connectives.
Along with their centralized nervous system, annelids have a number of different sensory
organs that help them to determine what is going on in their environments. These organs
include the eyes, palps, and antennae located in the head region, which we discussed earlier.
Many species also have sensory organs that can detect chemicals present in the environment.
These are called chemosensory organs. The nervous system of active predatory annelid
species often has a larger brain and more sensory organs than sedentary, burrowing species.
This makes sense because the lifestyle of predatory species requires more detailed sensory
input from the environment and greater nervous system function for complex behavioral
responses to that input.
Whoa!
EXAMPLE OF ANNELIDA?
 Annelida Example

An earthworm is a terrestrial invertebrate that belongs to the phylum Annelida.

They exhibit a tube-within-a-tube body plan; they are externally segmented with
corresponding internal segmentation; and they usually have setae on all
segments.[1] They occur worldwide where soil, water, and temperature allow.[2]
Earthworms are commonly found in soil, eating a wide variety of organic matter.
[3]
 This organic matter includes plant matter, living protozoa, rotifers, nematodes, 
bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms.[4] An earthworm's digestive system
runs the length of its body.[5]
An earthworm respires (breathes) through its skin. It has a double transport
system made of coelomic fluid that moves within the fluid-filled coelom and a
simple, closed circulatory system.
 Annelida Example

It has a central and peripheral nervous system. Its central nervous system

consists of two ganglia above the mouth, one on either side, connected to a nerve
running along its length to motor neurons and sensory cells in each segment.
Large numbers of chemoreceptors concentrate near its mouth.
Circumferential and longitudinal muscles edging each segment let the worm
move. Similar sets of muscles line the gut, and their actions move digesting food
toward the worm's anus.[6]
Earthworms are hermaphrodites: each carries male and female reproductive
organs. When mating, two individual earthworms will exchange sperm and
fertilize each other's eggs. Each individual has both male and female 
genital pores. As invertebrates, they lack a true skeleton, but they maintain their
structure with fluid-filled coelom chambers that function as a 
hydrostatic skeleton
 07
Benifits
What’s good about annelida?
 Benifits
Species in this phylum are found in all parts of the world. Some live in water,
and some live on land. Burrowing annelids, like the earthworm, play an
important role in helping organic matter decompose. Earthworms eat dead
plants and animals. When they eat, they also take in soil and tiny pebbles.
Earthworms take in nutrients from microorganisms in the material they
ingest. They then excrete wastes in the form of casts. Casts are rich in
nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, and potash. In addition to breaking down
organic materials and adding nutrients to the soil, earthworms also help
loosen the soil so air can circulate. This helps plants grow.
 THANKS!
Do you have any questions

Irish Maireign R. Magpantay

STEM 11- NEWTON

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