These will never grow up
Appendicularia or Larvaceans are small
tadpole like, non-vertebrate chordates, meaning they don’t have a spine, but
they have a sort of spinal cord known as a notocord.
I may have called them tadpole-like, but
it would be more accurate to compare them to the juvenile form of another
non-vertebrate choradate, the ascidians to which they are
very similar. In fact it is believed that these bizarre little creatures
evolved as a result of a process called neotony, in which the organism reaches
maturity in what is typically a juvenile phase.
They are filter feeders, but due to an
interesting little adaptation they are able to eat almost any organic material
no matter how small. They build a little very sticky external skeleton known as
a house, which usually surrounds the whole body. This bizarre structure
attaches to all particulate organiganic matter floating by which is
concentrated before it is eaten. The house loses its effectiveness over time,
and the Appendicularian can discard it when this happens.
Distribution:
Appendicularians
are found throughout the world’s oceans.
Classification:
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Appendicularia
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