Scotoplanes

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Scotoplanes
Scotoplanes globosa
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Echinodermata
Class: Holothuroidea
Order: Elasipodida
Family: Elpidiidae
Genus: Scotoplanes
Théel, 1882[1]
Species

Scotoplanes is a genus of deep-sea sea cucumbers of the family Elpidiidae. Its species are commonly known as sea pigs.

Locomotion

Members of the

infauna as it feeds.[3] This type of movement is thought to be an adaptation to life on the soft floor of the deep-sea. These creatures, however, are able to swim when disturbed. Some species of Scotoplanes are benthopelagic and spend plenty of time in the water column. A frontal lobe as well as two anal lobes propel the sea pig through the water. Their tentacles help detect their surroundings while moving.[4]

Ecology

Scotoplanes live on deep ocean bottoms, specifically on the

crustaceans.[9]

A living Scotoplanes from Monterey Bay with a juvenile Neolithodes diomedae king crab sheltering beneath it at a depth of approx. 1260 metres. Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, 2016.

Scotoplanes, like other sea cucumbers, host

commensal organisms. For example, it provides a shelter to juvenile crabs, Neolithodes diomedeae. It is known that such relationship benefits the crabs because they can reduce risks of predation when they are under the shelter.[10]

Scotoplanes are known to exhibit behavioral patterns of aggregation, where large numbers will aggregate either to feed or mate.[11]

Size

Scotoplanes can grow to 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 centimeters) in length.[12] They are bilaterally symmetrical with six pairs of tube feet, which are largest at mid-body and smallest near the anus. Scotoplanes also have ten buccal tentacles lining the oral cavity.

Physiology

Scotoplanes are tiny and have their own defence mechanism to protect themselves from predators. Their skin contains a toxic chemical called holothurin which is poisonous to other creatures. They have external appendages which include tube feet, dorsal papillae, and buccal tentacles.

Like all

respiratory tree. Their bodies are made for the deep seas and bringing them too close to the surface would cause them to disintegrate.[13]
Also similar to other echinoderms is Scotoplanes nervous system, which consists of a network of nerves without ganglia.

Scotoplanes have unique reproductive systems that consist of one gonad in both female and male organisms. This means one ovary in females and one testis in males. This is different from most echinoderms. Also unique from most elasipodids is that active gametogenesis was observed in both females and males, pointing to a different reproduction strategy in Scotoplanes.

Similar to other echinoderms, Scotoplanes have a water vascular system. The dorsal papillae are similar histologically to Scotoplanes' tube feet, as both contain a large muscular water vascular canal in the center. Hydraulic pressure in these canals are responsible for the efficacy of the vascular system.[14]

Taxonomy

The genus includes the following species:[15]

Ventral view of Scotoplanes globosa showcasing its tube feet

A study done provides histologic findings that these deep-sea dwelling sea pigs are similar to other holothuroidea, though there are few notable differences: most holothurians are sexually dioecious with sexes in separate individuals. Unlike other echinoderms, holothuroids possess only a single gonad. The water vascular system of holothuians is similar to other echinoderms, except the madreporite opens in the perivisceral coelom instead of in the external body wall.[16] In male Scotoplanes their aboral intestines have protozoa inside these cyst cavities.[16]

References

  1. ^ Théel, H (1886). "Report on the Holothurioidea dredged by HMS Challenger during the years 1873-76". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. doi:10.1016/0011-7471(72)90056-3
    .
  3. doi:10.1016/j.dsr2.2009.05.021
    .
  4. ISBN 9789054105961.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link
    )
  5. ISSN 1439-0485
    .
  6. ^ Llano, George Biology of the Antarctic Seas III, Volume 11 of Antarctic research series, Volume 3 of Biology of the Antarctic seas, Issue 1579 of Publication (National Research Council (U.S.))) American Geophysical Union, 1967, p. 57
  7. doi:10.1357/002224000321511061
    .
  8. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.1050.1.2
    .
  9. doi:10.1357/002224000321511061.[permanent dead link
    ]
  10. doi:10.1111/maec.12396
    .
  11. JSTOR 44634754
    .
  12. ISSN 1059-1028
    . Retrieved 2020-05-21.
  13. doi:10.1111/maec.12396
    .
  14. ISSN 2077-1312
    .
  15. ^ MarineSpecies.org – Scotoplanes
  16. ^
    doi:10.3390/jmse9080848. Text was copied from this source, which is available under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
    .

External links

Further reading

Ruhl, Henry A., and Kenneth L. Smith, Jr. "Go to Science." Science Magazine: Sign In. Science., 23 July 2004. Web. 1 May 2015. [1]

  1. S2CID 29864283
    .
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