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The annelids, collectively called Annelida (from Latin annellus "little ring"), are a large phylum of animals, comprising the segmented worms, with about 15,000 modern species including the well-known earthworms and leeches. They are found in most wet environments, and include many terrestrial, freshwater, and especially marine species (such as the polychaetes), as well as some which are parasitic or mutualistic. They range in length from under a millimeter to over 3 meters.

Anatomy


Annelids are triploblastic protostomes with a coelom, closed circulatory system and true segmentation. Oligochaetes and polychaetes typically have spacious coeloms; in leeches, the coelom is largely filled in with tissue and reduced to a system of narrow canals; archiannelids may lack the coelom entirely. The coleom is divided into a sequence of compartments by walls called septa. In the most general forms each compartment corresponds to a single segment of the body, which also includes a portion of the nervous and (closed) circulatory systems, allowing it to function relatively independently. Each segment is marked externally by one or more rings, called annuli. Each segment also has an outer layer of circular muscle underneath a thin cuticle and epidermis, and a system of longitudinal muscles. In earthworms, the longitudinal muscles are strengthened by collagenous lamellae; the leeches have a double layer of muscles between the outer circulars and inner longitudinals. In most forms they also carry a varying number of bristles, called setae, and among the polychaetes a pair of appendages, called parapodia.

Anterior to the true segments lies the prostomium and peristomium, which carries the mouth, and posterior to them lies the pygidium, where the anus is located. The digestive tract is quite variable but is usually specialized. For example, in some groups (notably most earthworms) it has a typhlosole (to increase surface area) along much of its length. Different species of annelids have a wide variety of diets, including active and passive hunters, scavengers, filter feeders, direct deposit feeders which simply ingest the sediments, and blood-suckers.

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Nerillidae (Annelida) from the Corona lava tube, Lanzarote, with description of Meganerill.. http://bit.ly/5XAQsc http://sciencia.org/
Sciencia (Webmaster Sciencia) Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:37:35 -0000
Nerillidae (Annelida) from the Corona lava tube, Lanzarote, with description of Meganerill.. http://bit.ly/5XAQsc http://sciencia.org/
Nerillidae (Annelida) from the Corona lava tube, Lanzarote, with description of Meganerilla cesari n. sp http://kele.es/oaT
Sciencia (Webmaster Sciencia) Sat, 12 Dec 2009 11:30:41 -0000
Nerillidae (Annelida) from the Corona lava tube, Lanzarote, with description of Meganerilla cesari n. sp http://kele.es/oaT
Acanthocephala, Acoelomorpha, Annelida, Arthropoda, Brachiopoda, Bryozoa, Chaetognatha, Chordata, Cnidaria, Ctenophora, Cycliophora...
pippppo (Philippe Araujo) Sat, 12 Dec 2009 01:54:42 -0000
Acanthocephala, Acoelomorpha, Annelida, Arthropoda, Brachiopoda, Bryozoa, Chaetognatha, Chordata, Cnidaria, Ctenophora, Cycliophora...
@ChristinStefph iiih aku kan penyayang binatang. kecuali annelida arthropoda platyhelmynthes nemathelmyntes dan kawan kawannya
danielharyo (Daniel Haryo) Thu, 10 Dec 2009 13:16:19 -0000
@ChristinStefph iiih aku kan penyayang binatang. kecuali annelida arthropoda platyhelmynthes nemathelmyntes dan kawan kawannya
@danielharyo gua mah ulet bulu dan bukan annelida lagi
danangnur (Danang Nur Fauzan) Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:26:16 -0000
@danielharyo gua mah ulet bulu dan bukan annelida lagi
@DanangNur lah kan masa kecil lo kayak gitu kan. makan annelida dan kawan2nya #soktau
danielharyo (Daniel Haryo) Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:25:17 -0000
@DanangNur lah kan masa kecil lo kayak gitu kan. makan annelida dan kawan2nya #soktau

 
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500 Annelida - Introduction - Annelid worms, brought to you by Biological Sciences at the University of Paisley.

Center for Annelida Resources - The Illinois Natural History Survey Annelida Collection is one of the largest state collections of freshwater oligochaetes in the USA, holding more than 300,000 specimens.

Introduction to the Annelida - Introduction to the Annelida, the segmented worms.

Phylum Annelida - The segmented worms, including earthworms, polychaete worms, and leeches.

UCSC Annelida - Anatomical illustrations of segmented worms from the University of California at Santa Cruz.

404 Wormlab Home Page - Photographs and links to other worm pages.
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