ANNELIDS AND

ALLIED TAXA
(GROUP 5) – BIO 602 GENERAL ZOOLOGY
PHYLUM
ANNELIDA
• Phylum Annelida is a diverse group of segmented worms, including earthworms, freshwater worms,
leeches, and marine worms (polychaetes).
• The body of annelids is divided into segments with circular rings called annuli, and their segmentation is
internally marked by septa.
• Annelids are often referred to as "bristle worms" due to the presence of tiny chitinous bristles called
setae that assist in locomotion and preventing them from being pulled out of their habitats.
• These worms have a worldwide distribution, with polychaetes primarily found in marine environments,
while oligochaetes and leeches are more common in freshwater and terrestrial soils. Some leeches are
specialized predators, and they often have suckers for attachment to substrates or prey.
CLADOGRAM OF ANNELIDS
BODY PLANS

• Annelids have a body structure with a two-part head, segmented body, and a terminal pygidium
with an anus.
• Each segment of an annelid typically contains respiratory, nervous, excretory structures, as well
as a coelom, and may have parapodia.
• Annelids utilize a hydrostatic skeleton due to the fluid-filled coelom and exhibit peristaltic
contractions for locomotion or undulatory movements for swimming.
• Annelids historically classified into Polychaeta, Oligochaeta, and Hirudinida, with recent
phylogenetic analysis revealing a new grouping called Pleistoannelida, comprising Errantia and
Sedentaria, and Clitellata as a distinct clade.
PLEISTOANNELIDA
PLEISTOANNELIDA
• is a group of annelid worms that comprises the vast majority of the diversity in phylum
Annelida.
ERRANTIA
• Errantia, a subgroup of Pleistoannelida, consists of motile polychaetes, which are mostly
marine organisms of varying sizes.
• These polychaetes exhibit diverse colors, with some being brightly colored, iridescent, or dull.
• Many polychaetes are euryhaline and can adapt to a wide range of salinity levels, with
freshwater species being more diverse in warmer regions.
• Polychaetes inhabit various environments, from living under rocks, in coral crevices, or
abandoned shells to being planktonic, playing a significant role in marine food chains due to
predation by various organisms. They possess specialized sensory organs, parapodia on most
segments, and numerous setae.
FORM AND FUNCTION
• Polychaetes have distinct body structures: a prostomium with
sensory features, a peristomium surrounding the mouth, and
segmented trunks with parapodia for crawling and respiration.
Some polychaetes may also possess chitinous jaws in predatory
forms, and in addition to parapodia, they may have gills for
respiration.
REPRESENTATIVE MEMBERS OF
ERRANTIA
CLAM WORMS: NEREIS
Clam worms, also known as sand worms, are active errant
polychaetes living in mucus-lined burrows near low tide.
They can grow up to 30-40 cm in length and have about 200
segments. Their head features sensory palps, tentacles, and
eyes, while their body has parapodia with setae for creeping
and swimming. They feed on small animals and larvae using
chitinous jaws, and their pharynx helps with food intake and
digestion through peristalsis.
SCALE WORMS
Scale worms, part of the Polynoidae family, are diverse and
abundant polychaete worms with flattened bodies covered in scales.
They come in various sizes, with some reaching up to 190 mm in
length and 100 mm in width. These carnivorous worms feed on a
range of animals and often live as commensals in burrows of other
polychaetes or in association with different marine organisms.
FIREWORMS
Fireworms, such as Hermodice carunculata, are named
for their hollow, poisonous setae. Contact with these setae
can cause skin irritation as they break off in the wound.
These fireworms primarily feed on corals, gorgonians,
and other cnidarians.
SEDENTARIA
• Sedentaria includes various polychaetes and oligochaetes living in tubes or burrows,
including Pogonophora and Echiura from former phyla, along with members of Clitellata.
• The body plan of sedentary polychaetes resembles that of errant polychaetes, with
modified heads featuring tentacles for food capture, small parapodia for anchoring, and
hooklike setae for tube attachment.
• Some sedentary tube-dwelling worms have dual-purpose tentacles for both food capture
and respiration, thanks to branching within the tentacles, while some also possess gills.
REPRESENTATIVE MEMBERS OF SEDENTARIA

• Tubeworms – tube-dwellers create a variety of tube

types, including parchmentlike, calcareous, and sand-
based tubes. They are mainly particle feeders, using
cilia or mucus to capture plankton and detritus. Some
have tentacles for suspension feeding, while others, like
Amphitrite, use long tentacles to collect food from the
sea bottom. Lugworms combine suspension and deposit
feeding by causing water to flow through their burrow,
trapping food particles. Fanworms, or "featherduster"
worms, have beautiful tentacular crowns for feeding,
trapping small food particles in mucus via ciliary action
and storing sand grains for tube enlargement.
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FAMILY SIBOGLINIDAE
(POGONOPHORANS)
• Phylum Siboglinidae, also known as pogonophorans, comprises a group of marine tube-
dwelling worms.
• These organisms are primarily found in deep-sea environments, typically at depths ranging from
100 to 10,000 meters.
• Pogonophorans have sessile lifestyles, living inside long chitinous tubes that they secrete. They
extend only the anterior end of their bodies for feeding.
• These creatures lack a typical digestive system and primarily absorb nutrients from their
surroundings. Pogonophorans have been discovered relatively recently, with the first specimens
collected in the 20th century.
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FAMILY ECHIURIDAE
• The Echiuridae family comprises around 140 species of marine worms that inhabit
various environments, such as mud, sand, snail shells, and rocky crevices in oceans
worldwide. They vary in size from a few millimeters to 40 or 50 cm. These worms have a
simple cylindrical body with an extendable proboscis that aids in feeding. They are often
referred to as "spoon worms." Echiurans possess a relatively simple nervous system and
primarily feed on small particles by extending their proboscis over the mud. They can
reject unwanted particles along the way. The digestive tract is long and coiled, with some
species having a closed circulatory system. Although not segmented, they likely had a
segmented ancestor and may retain ancestral epidermal setae.
CLADE CLITELLATA

• - Clade Clitellata includes earthworms, leeches (class Hirudinida), and their relatives.
• - Members of this group share a unique reproductive feature known as a clitellum, which
is a ring of secretory cells visible as a band around their bodies.
• - Oligochaetes always have a visible clitellum, while leeches display it only during the
reproductive season.
• - Clitellates are hermaphroditic and exhibit direct development, with young worms
emerging from cocoons secreted by the clitellum.
OLIGOCHAETES

• Clitellata: Earthworms, leeches, and relatives.

• They have a unique feature called a clitellum, a
visible ring of secretory cells.
• Oligochaetes always show the clitellum, while
leeches display it during reproduction.
• These hermaphroditic animals exhibit direct
development, with young emerging from cocoons
secreted by the clitellum.
CLASS HIRUDINIDA: LEECHES
• Class Hirudinida includes three orders: Hirudinea (true leeches), Acanthobdellida, and Branchiobdellida,
which serve as intermediates between oligochaetes and true leeches.
• Oligochaetes have varying segments with setae and no body suckers. True leeches have 34 segments, no
setae, and anterior and posterior suckers.
• Acanthobdellida has 27 segments with setae on the first five segments and a posterior sucker.
Branchiobdellida has 14-15 segments with no setae and an anterior sucker and are often associated with
crayfish.
• Leeches primarily inhabit freshwater environments, but some are marine or adapted to terrestrial life in
warm, moist areas, with a higher abundance in tropical regions.
• Leeches come in various sizes and colors, living as carnivores, temporary parasites, or permanent
parasites, with some species posing a nuisance to humans. They are hermaphroditic, with a clitellum that
secretes a cocoon during the breeding season.
PHYLUM SIPUNCULA
• Phylum Sipuncula includes around 250 species of marine worms living in various marine environments at
depths ranging from intertidal zones to over 5000 meters, with a preference for tropical areas.
• Sipunculans are known for their slender, retractile proboscis and have a non-segmented, setae-lacking body
structure. They use their proboscis for feeding and have ciliated tentacles around their mouth for capturing
food.
• These worms have a fluid-filled coelom, a long digestive tract, and a simple nervous system. They lack
circulatory and respiratory systems but have red corpuscles with hemerythrin for oxygen transport.
• Sipunculans typically have separate sexes and release sex cells through nephridia. They reproduce sexually
and, in some cases, through asexual transverse fission, where a new individual forms from a portion of the
parent's body.