Branchiostoma Floridae
PRESENTED BY: RACHEL BELTZ
Classification
Common Name: Florida Lancelet
Scientific Name: Branchiostoma floridae
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Leptocardii
Sub Phylum: Cephalochordata
Common Characteristics
Evolutionary Advantage (common with phylum)
Dorsal tubular nerve chord
invertebrate nerve chord in ventral of alimentary canal
in chordates a single chord is on dorsal side relative to alimentary
canal anterior brain attached to it
brain by cranium
Symmetry: Bilateral
Body Cavity: Acoelomate
Free living organism
filter feeder/ herbivore
aquatic/ marine
Segmentation: series of metameric blocks of muscles called myomeres
dorsal nerve chord, notochord, post annul tail, pharyngeal fill slits
rhythmic contracting of these muscles allows ability to swim like a
fish
Life Cycle/ Reproduction
Average Life Span: 2-5 years (depends on species)
Typical Offspring:
Reproduces sexually
Fertilization is external
Eggs and sperm flow out of atrium and are released into
water
DIAGRAM OF LIFE CYCLE:
EGG
LARVAE
Juvenile Stage
Habitat/ Niche
Habitat: sandy bottom in shallow seawater
Temperate and tropical waters
Off European shores and coasts of North
America
Niche: eats plant plankton and diatoms
Pelagic Tunicate in action:
Although this is not a video of a lancelet it is from the same
phylum, Chordata and has a notochord like lancelets do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj2F6WH7o7g&feature=related
Special Characteristics
White to creamy yellow, sometimes with pink tint
Have fifty-six to sixty-four muscle blocks
Length: approximitally 5-10 centimeters long
Capture food particles with a mucus net
Used for studies of embryonic development as well as
food for humans and domesticated animals in Asia
Not considered threatened or endangered
Some have green fluorescent proteins protecting
them in times of illness and stress
WORKS CITED
Web. 5 May 2011. <http://animals.jrank.org/pages/1665/LanceletsCephalochordata-FLORIDA-LANCELET-Branchi>.
Web. 7 May 2011. <ostoma-floridae-SPECIES-ACCOUNT.html>.
"The Shape of Life . Chordates | PBS." PBS: Public Broadcasting
Service. Web. 7 May 2011. <http://www.pbs.
org/kcet/shapeoflife/animals/chordates.html>.
"Cephalochordata - Encyclopedia of Life." Encyclopedia of Life. Web. 7
May 2011. <http://www.eol.org/pages/1585>.
"The Sea-squirts, Vertebrates and Their Allies (Phylum Chordata)." The
Earth Life Web. Web. 7 May 2011. <http://www.earthlife.
net/inverts/chordata.html>.