Metamerism
Phylum Annelida
Characters:
Bilateral symmetry, Coelomate with
segments/metamere/metameric; Thin
external cuticle; no ecdysis;
Paired epidermis chaeta, head with
protostomium and peristomium;
Have brain and double ventral nervous
thread;
Oligochaeta Morphology-1
Cuticle
Cross Section of Oligochaeta Oligochaeta Anatomy
•Have an anterior prostomium and posterior pygidium; both
nonsegmented
• Body is divided into a linear series of similar parts or segments, and
each segment is called a metamere
• The pattern of repeated segmentation is called metamerism
• Each metamere is separated from the next by a transverse septum
• Each metamere acts as a hydrostatic skeleton
• Each metamere has longitudinal and circular muscles; longitudinal
muscle contraction causes segments to shorten; circular muscle
contraction causes segments to elongate
• Each segment usually bears one or more chitinous bristles called setae;
help anchor segments
Oligochaeta Morphology-2
Prostomium/Acron
Pygidium
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 Polychaeta Morphology-1 Polychaeta Morphology-2
Prostomium/Acron

Anterior Part of Polychaeta Various Parapodia

Cross Section of Polychaeta Anterior part of Polychaeta

Characters (cont’d): Development Type and Trochophore Larvae

Excretory system of protonephridia or

nephridia, closed circulatory system A

with dorsal pump, coelomic gonad,

Coelomoductus, gonoductus; different
sex or hermaphrodite; spiral cleavage
development, trocophore larvae. B

A. Radial cleavage development Trochophore larva

B. Spiral cleavage develpmnet

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 Characters (others):
 Body consist of several metameres (segments,
somites) with cavity
consist of :
 acron or prostomium at the anterior,
 pygidium at the posterior and
 body consist of several segments completed
with chetae parapodia.
Characters (cont’d) :
On every segment there’s a pair of nephridia.
Unspecialized digestive system.
Central nervous system with metameric
ganglia.
Various reproduction and development pattern.
Body size 1 mm - 3 m
Various body coloration from dark brown, red,
green, pink, yellow, and blue.
Characters (cont’d):
Among body segments, there is Clitellum,
enlarge gland that used in reproduction,
contain tubercle filled with coccoon with
some fertilized eggs.
Nervous System
• Consists of a brain, which is connected to
a pair of ventral longitudinal nerve cords,
with a ganglion in each segment
(metameric)
Circulatory System
• Closed circulatory system, in which the blood is
always enclosed within blood vessels that run the
length of the body and branch to every segment
• Several hearts (5 in earthworms) are used to
pump blood through the closed circuit
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Excretory System
• Consists of paired (metameric) metanephridia
• Excretory tubes with ciliated funnels that remove
waste from the coelomic fluid; open to the outside via
excretory pores.
Reproductive System
• Most annelids are hermaphroditic, but they are usually cross fertilizers.
• Earthworms and leeches form pairs and reciprocally fertilize one another
• Some annelids (e.g. marine sandworms) are dioecious and they release eggs and sperm into
the marine environment, where gametes unite to form trochophore larvae

Note:
Not all organ systems are metameric
For example, the digestive system extends the
length of the organism and is differentiated
along its length

ANNELIDS CLASSIFICATION
Phylum Annelida
There are about 10.000 species;
Taxon Character
Live across the fertile soil/land and shallow marine,
only one freshwater species commonly known as Classis 1. Polychaeta Setae:
Tubifex tubifex. Plenty

(Tubeworms, Sandworm Keadaan metamerisme:

Bristleworm, Parchmentworm Exist
Lugworm, Bambooworm,
Annelids classification based on:
Seamice/Scaleworm, Fireworm Karakter pembeda lain:
1. Number of setae
Paloloworm, Fanworm) 1. A pair of parapodia.
2. Metamerism type
3. Other distinct characters 2. Without clittellum

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Class Polychaeta Polychaetes: General Characteristics cont.
("many bristles”) •Prostomium is well equipped with sensory and feeding structures

General Characteristics
• Marine worms, including sandworms and
clamworms.
• Each segment is equipped with a pair of fleshy
paddle-like structures - parapodia; used in
locomotion
• Parapodia contain a large number of chitinous
bristles – setae; anchor the worms

Class Polychaeta: Diversity

Polychaetes: General Characteristics cont.
• Although a number of polychaetes are active predators, some are sedentary and burrow
into mud or live in protective tubes in the mud
• Mouth is located just below the prostomium, • In several of these species filter feeding has evolved
but in front of the modified segments - • A good example is the fan worm Sabella, with their feather-like head structures called
peristomium radioles
• Digestive system includes a muscular
pharynx that can be everted through the
mouth
• Pharynx is equipped with pincer-like jaws

• Although many of the smaller polychaetes lack respiratory structures, the larger one
do possess gills
• Gills are usually modifications of the parapodia

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Class Polychaeta: Diversity cont.
Class Polychaeta: Diversity cont.
• Chaetopterus is tube dweller; lives in a U-shaped tube
• Parapodia are highly modified into 3 fan-like structures that bring water • Arenicola lives in a J-shaped burrow
into the tube • It employs peristaltic movements to generate a water flow
• The notopodium secretes a mucous bag that traps food from the water • Food is filtered out from the front of the burrow
flowing through the tube; the bag is periodically passed anteriorly toward
the mouth

Interesting Polychaeta Several Polychaeta

Species of the classis Polychaeta are

consider the most beautiful among all
Invertebrates because of the body Eunice torquata Eunice valens
variation and coloration of red, green,
yellow, and blue with iridescent and
luminescent .

Eunice norvegica
Eunice vitata

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 Several Polychaeta Habitat of Polychaeta
This animals are abundance on the intertidal to
the depth of 50 m , and live burrowing in the
mud and sand or live in the coral cervices
and shell, inside tube that it build or
Bristle worm Palolo worm comensalism with other animals. As
consequences classis polychaeta,
ecologically, have important role as the main
food chain in the litoral sea habitat

Eunice aphroditois Eunice colour

Example of Polychaeta
Size of Polychaeta
• Chaetopterus (Parchmentworm)
• Arenicola (Lugworm)
• Maldone (bambooworm)
Size of Polychaeta is 2 mm to 3 m
• Aphrodita, Phyllodoce, Lepidonotus, Scyllis
(Pacific palolo worms, Eunice viridis)
(Seamice atau Scaleworms)
There are 6.000 species of the classis
• Nereis, Neanthes (Sandworms)
Polychaeta that have been studied.
• Hermodice (Fireworm)
• Eunice (Paloloworm)
• Serpula, Spirorbis, Hydroides (Fanworms)
• Cistenides, Diopatra, Clymenella
(Tubeworms)

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 TAXON CHARACTERS
Class Oligochaeta ("few bristles")
Classis 2.
Setae: some or none • Many of the morphological structures are reduced when
Metamerisme: exist
Clitellata Ciri pembeda lain: have clittellum. No
compared to the polychaetes
parapodia • Prostomium lacks sensory structures
• Parapodia are absent; each segment usually contains one or
Setae: some on each segments
Subclassis 1. Metamerisme: exist more pairs of setae; used in locomotion
Oligochaeta Ciri pembeda lain: Small cephalization. • Aquatic forms usually have larger setae than the terrestrial
Most with gland
(Earth worms) forms

Setae :None
Subclassis 2.
Metamerisme: 34 metameesr.
Hirudinea Ciri pembeda lain: usually with anterior
(Leeches) and posterior suckers

Class Oligochaeta cont. Class Oligochaeta cont.

• Earthworms feed on vast quantities of soil that contains living and decaying organic material.
• Digestive tract of the annelids shows specialization along its length: mouth, pharynx, crop
(food storage), gizzard (grinding), calciferous glands (accessory glands that excrete excess
calcium from the food)
• Remainder of the gut is the intestine - for digestion and absorption
• Its surface area is increased because of a dorsal longitudinal fold called the typhlosole
• Lack respiratory organs; gas exchanges occurs across the body wall
• Hermaphroditic, but exchange sperm during copulation
• During copulation, worms join their anterior ends;
held together by mucous secretions from a clitellum
• After reciprocal copulation, sperm is stored in
seminal receptacles
• Clitellum then secretes a mucous tube that serves as a
cocoon
• The cocoon moves anteriorly and eggs from the
oviduct and sperm from the seminal receptacles are
poured into it; fertilization occurs in the cocoon
• Cocoon eventually slips off the anterior end of the
worm
• In time, young worms emerge from the cocoon

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Oligochaeta
Subclassis 1. Oligochaeta:
have clittellum that consist of 2 - 50 segments
(mostly: 2 - 8 segments); it is location for
coccoon formation that contain several
fertilized eggs.
There are 3.400 species that commonly live as
earthworms and some aquatic worms with
the size of 1 mm - 50 mm.
Example of
Oligochaeta
Lumbricus ruebellus Lumbricus terretris
Habitat and Example of
Oligochaeta
• Soil Habitat: Lumbricus, Pheretima,
Moniligaster, Enchytraeus
• Freshwater Habitat : Aelosoma (also in
brackish water), Tubifex (in polluted
water, the red coloration is caused by
respiration pigment, erythrocuorin,
inside the blood, which caused the name
of bloodworms), Stylaria (as predator)
Hirudinae
• Subclassis 2. Hirudinae,
have body withaout chaetae, consist of 34
metameres, and anterior and posterior
sucker, black or brown coloration.
Specific features are looping pattern of
movement and swim with the undulating
movement of the body.
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Class Hirudinea
• Body is dorso-ventrally flattened
• Anterior segments are modified as a small sucker which surrounds the mouth; posterior Class Hirudinea cont.
segments form a larger sucker
• Setae are completely absent • Leeches crawl over the surface in a loop like fashion,
• Evidence of segmentation externally, but no internal septa
• There is serial repetition of many of the organs (e.g., nephridia and testes) with the use of 2 suckers.
• Body is extended due to circular muscle contraction and
the attachment of the anterior sucker to the substrate.
• Posterior sucker is subsequently released, and
longitudinal muscles contract bringing the posterior part of
the body forward.

Class Hirudinea con’t

• Most leeches are active predators; however, some are the parasitic, bloodsucking forms. Class Hirudinea con’t
• Blood suckers have blade like jaws that they use to penetrate the skin of a host.
• Leeches are hermaphroditic but engage in cross-
fertilization; some use hypodermic impregnation
• Leeches have a clitellum and are capable of
• Blood is prevented from generating a cocoon
clotting because they secrete a
powerful anticoagulant;
anesthetics are also released
• A muscular pharynx
subsequently pumps blood into
the gut.

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 Habitat of Hirudinae General morphology of Hirudinae
Sucker anterior

• There are freshwater 600 that live on

the vegetation around the pond,
shallow lake and swamp.
• The size is around 1 6 cm, although
Hirudo can reach up to 20 cm after
sucking blood. Sucker posterior

Schematic view of leech

Example of Hirudinae Medicinal Leeches

• Erphobdella, eating Insects and Mollusc larva
• Glossiphonia, eating Mollusc and Annelid
• Placobdella, parasit on fish, Amphibia
(Toad/Frog) and Reptilia (Turtle)
• Haemopsis, leech on Mammals (Horse, Cow
and Bull)
• Haemadipsa, leech on human

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