What is it that has hundreds of feet, lacks a head, and is our close relative? The answer is, echinoderms.
There are roughly 70 species of echinoderms along the Swedish coast, almost exclusively along the west coast. Common starfish Asterias rubens can be found on the beach, but most echinoderms live quite deep in the sea and diving equipment is required to be able to study them in situ. In addition to starfish and sea urchins, the group also includes lily stars, snake stars with winding arms and elongated sea cucumbers that dig their way through the bottom sediment. It can be difficult to realize what they all have in common, but we will talk about both similarities and differences in the upcoming volume of the National Key. Starfish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, lily stars and snake stars are all echinoderms. Common features are that they lack a head and have hundreds of feet. Many are shaped like a star or ball and most don't even have a front and back. The snake stars lack an anal opening, which means that the faeces exit through the mouth. And sea cucumbers breathe with their butts. In fact, echinoderms are more closely related to ourselves than most other animals are, although it can be hard to see the similarities. If a star snake loses an arm, it quickly grows a new one. Many echinoderms have a very good ability to regenerate lost body parts. The special stem cells that make this possible are of interest to researchers considering the echinoderms' relationship with us humans.
Product information
Authors: Hans G. Hansson, Tomas Cedhagen & Malin Strand
Illustrator: Helena Samuelsson
Edition: 1
ISBN: 9789188506825
Language: Swedish
Weight: 1394 grams
Series: The national key to Sweden's flora and fauna
Released: 2013-12-02
Publisher: ArtDatabanken SLU
Pages: 270