Earthworm

WORMS

3 Phyla: Annelida, Platyhelminthes, Nemotada

Our earthworm, cut and ready to be learned from.

Keely and Tyler hard at work.

Movement: muscles contract and relax along the worms body, ‘setae’ (tiny hairs covering the worm’s body) help to anchor the worm.

Morphology:

v  One end has oral opening, the other has anal opening.

v  Breathes through epidermis (skin, outer layer).

v  Closed circulatory system - blood is confined to blood vessels and is circulated to get maximum use.

v  Simple brain with nerve cord.

Embryology: Female egg fertilization, then the egg goes through mitosis to create a blastula. The blastula then begins to fold inwards forming the oral opening, it’s anal opening is formed later.
*Annelidas vs. Chordata – different opening forms in the blastula.

 Video - Locations of the parts of mine and Spencer's earthworm.