PHYLUM ROTIFERA

Rotifera are, popularly known as wheel animalcules" due to their peculiar

movement similar to the rotation of a wheel. They are actively
swimming,microscopic aquatic animals, most common in freshwater habitats, such
as ponds, lakes, streams, marshes .films of water, etc. Some are marine. Majority of
them are benthic forms, but a few are planktonic species. They are relatively short
living, and their life span ranges between a few days and a few weeks. They are
well adapted to to withstand desiccation and to survive drought and hostile climatic
conditions. Therefor they live in moist or partially wet terrestrial habitats, such as
the cracks and crevices of rocks, fissures on land, etc. Rotifers are bilaterally
symmetrical. unsegmented and pseuclocoelomate metazoans, with ciliated trochal
disc, syncytial epidermis, complete alimentary canal, specialized jaws, muscular
pharynx and ame bulb type nephridia, and without circulatory and respiratory
organs. The salient features of the phylum are the following: .
(i) They have microscopic body partially differentiated into head, trunk and tail or
foot.
(ii) Anterior head region is broad with a central disc, called apical field,which is
encircled by a ciliary zone, known as corona (rotatory organ or wheel organ. Corona
may be partially subdivided into retractile, locomotor and food collecting discs
called trochal discs.
(iii) Body is covered by a cuticle, formed of a glycoprotein, without-chitin or
collagen. The cuticular covering sometimes becomes a hard and thick encasement,
called lorica. Organism with lorica are called loricates. and those without lorica are
called illoricates.
(iv) Epidermis is mostly syncytial, except in the region of corona.
(v) Peri-visceral cavity is a spacious pseudocoel.
(vi) Pharynx is modified into a muscular mill, called mastax which is provided with a
masticatory apparatus or dental mill .Phrynx is composed of hard and jaw-like
cuticular structures called trophi or internal jaws. Mastax and trophi are
characteristic of rotifers.
(vii) They are ammonotelic. Excretory organs are protonephridia with ame bulbs.
(viii) Nervous system consists of a bilobed brain and several radiating nerves.
(ix) Sexes are separate. Sexual dimorphism is distinct .Male being smaller and
almost degenerate. Eggs are of two kinds, namely syngamic eggs and
parthenogenetic eggs. The former develops through fertilization, and the latter
through parthenogenesis without fertilization. In some rotifers males are less

numerous than females. In still others, males are altogether absent, and
reproduction is exclusively parthenogenetic.

(x) Many rotifers have the powers for cyclomorphosis and cryptobiosis.
Cyclomorphosis is the seasonal change in the form, shape and proportion of the
body. Cryptobiosis (= hidden life) is a death-like state of suspended animation
which protects the animal from adverse environmental conditions.
Reproduction in rotifers
Rotifers reproduce by both parthenogenesis and sexual reproduction. In the former.
ova develop without fertilization, where as in the latter ova develop only after
fertilization.
Thus, in parthenogenesis, only the female parent is involved, but in sexual
reproduction,
male and female parents are involved.
Development and life cycle
Fertilization is intemal . Development is direct and external. Early cleavage
is determinate and spiral. Male rotifers hatch out as sexually mature adults. Hence
they remain small-sized through out life. On the other hand, females grow to sexual
maturity only after hatching. Life cycle of rotifers is highly interesting in that there is
a cyclic occurrence of syngamic and parthenogenetic generations in tune with the
cyclic seasonal changes. Generally, there are two kinds of females among rotifers,
namely amiotic females and mictic females. Amictic females produce larger eggs
which develop only parthenogeneti cally into amictic or mictic females: they cannot
develop through fertilization. On the other hand, the eggs of mictic females can
develop either by parthenogenesis or by fertilization. If these eggs are not fertilized,
they parthenogenetically develop to males. if they are fertilized, they develop to
amictic females.
Examples: Brachionus, Polyarthra, Asplanchna,Keratella. Cellotheca.
Brachionus is a common freshwater rotifer, inhabiting ponds, ditches. etc. It exhibits
sexual dimorphism. Male is much smaller than female, short-lived, and aberrant or
degenerate in organization. without mouth, digestive tract and anus,but with
disproportionately enlarged testis and penis. Virtually, it is little more than a

swimming testis, with an oversized penis. Internal organs are well developed in
female. The body of a female is almost cone-shaped. It is differentiated into head.
trunk and foot or tail. Head is broad and truncated, trunk is large and cylindrical,
and foot is
long and slender. Head has a non-ciliated terminal disc, called apical field. It is
encircled by
a ciliary zone, called corona or wheel organ (rotatory organ). It is involved in
locomotion
and food collection. The epidermis of the corona is cellular and not syncytial. Apical
field
has several projections or papillae. Some of them are sensory and have stiff stylets,
bristles
and hairs. Mouth. also known as buccal orifice, is on the ventral side of the apical
field.
Corona is usually subdivided into several retractile lobes. called trochal discs. In
some
Rotifers corona is surrounded by double ciliated ring, called velum. It consists of
outer and
inner ciliary bands known respectively as cingulam and trochus. The cilia of corona
help in
locomotion create an incoming food current, and drive out waste products. Trunk is
the largest part of the body. It contains the important visceral organs. Trunk is
enclosed by a thick and hard cuticular encasement, called lorica. Lorica is often
sculptured, ornamented, or spiny. Foot or tail is long, slender and terminally
tapering. Anus is. located mid-dorsally at or near the junction between trunk and
foot. The cuticular covering of the foot is generally annulated or ringed. Foot
terminates in l to 4 movable toes. Foot serves as a rudder in swimming, and the
toes are often used in gripping on the substratum during crawling. Foot contains the
pedal glands or cement glands whose ducts open at thetip of toes or elsewhere on
the foot. The adhesive secretions of these glands serve for temporary attachment
during
feeding.
Body wall is composed of cuticle, epidermis and the sub-epidermal musculature.
Cuticle

is an extracellular secretion of the epidermisDigestive system is highly degenerated

in male Brachirmus, without mouth, alimentary canal and anus. But, in female, it is
well developed and consists of the alimentary canal and the salivary and gastric
glands. Brachionus is a micrnphagous ciliary suspensi0nfeea'e-r or current-feeder.
Its food consists of various kinds of suspended microorganisms. The food-laden
water is swept into the
buccal tube and pharynx by an incoming stream of water, produced by the cilia of
the corona. In the pharynx, food particles are collected and sliced by the trophi. The
secretions of
the salivary glands and gastric glands bring about the digestion of the
food.Respiratory and circulatory organs are absent in Brachionus. Nitrogenous
Excretion is ammonotelic. Excretory and osmoregulatory organs include a pair of
highly convoluted protonephridial tubules, provided with ame bulbs. They lie in the
haemocoel. Each tubule has several short branches, and each branch ends in a
ame bulb. Nervous system is very simple. It consists of a bilobed cerebral ganglion
or brain above the pharynx, a mastax ganglion below the mastax, a caudal or pedal
ganglion at the poste rior end of the tail, and numerous radiating nerves from the
ganglia to the different parts of the body. Sensory structures are localized in the
apical field. They include photoreceptor eye-spots, chemoreceptor pores. and
mechanoreceptor or tangoreceptor papillae, stylets,etc.Sexes are separate in
Brachionus (gonochoric or bisexual are dition). Male and female exhibit sexual
dimorphism; male is smaller than female and is almost degenerate.
Reproduction is sexual and fertilization is intemal, and development is external and
direct, without a larval stage.
Phylum: Gastrotricha
Gastrotricha (Gk. gaster = stomach; thrix = hair) is a small group of highly diverse,
worm-like,bilaterally symmetrical, unsegmented and a coelamate, aquatic animals,
with spiny cuticular covering and two aalhesive caudal tubes.
(i) Bilaterally symmetrical and unsegmented body with at ventral side and arched
dorsal
side. Body is divisible into head, neck, trunk and tail.
(ii) Forked tail with a pair of adhesive tubes, which contain cement glands. The
sticky
secretion of these glands fastens the animal to solid objects.

(iii) Body wall is formed of cuticle, epidermis and circular and longitudinal muscles.
The
cuticular covering on the dorsal side is modified into scales, spines and bristles,
which
give the animal the appearance of ciliated protozoans. Epidermis is syneytial with
adhesive tubules. Muscles are not continuous.
(iv) Spacious body cavity is absent
(v) Digestive tract is a straight tube with sub-terminal mouth, long and muscular
pharynx,
imperfectly demarcated stomach, and uncoiled intestine. Mouth is bordered by oral
bristles and groups of sensory bristles.
(vi) Circulatory and respiratory systems are absent. Excretory system consists of a
pair of
intemally agellated protonephridial tubules. ,
(vii) Nervous system consists of a bilobed cerebral ganglion or brain, a pair of
ventro-lateral
nerve cords and numerous nerve fibres.
(viii)Sensory structures include, cilia. bristles, small tentacles and ciliary pits. In
some species, pigmented eye spots or ocelli may also be present.
(ix)Reproduction is sexual as well as asexual. Most of the marine species reproduce
sexually, and they are hermaphrodites. But, almost all freshwater speciesreproduce
asexually by partllertogenesis. Gonads may be single or paired, and situated in the
posterior part of the trunk.
(x) Locomotion is by ciliary gliding. Locomotor cilia are restricted to the at ventral
side
of the body .
(xi) Gastrotrichs mainly feed on bacteria, protists and fungi.
Chaetonotus
Chaetonotus is a freshwater gastrotrich living in fine sediments or detritus. Its body
is short and unsegmented, and covered with locomotor cilia. The animal is capable

of reversing its ciliary beat in order to withdraw from an unpleasant stimulus. The
body is elongated dorsally arched and ventrally attened. It has distinct head,tmnk,
and forked tail with two or more caudal organs for adhesion. Head bears mouth,
photoreceptors, chemoreceptors, and tufts of vibratilesensory hairs or bristles on
either side. Eyes are not present in some species. Body wall is formed of cuticle,
syncitial epiderrnis, and circular and longitudinal muscles. Cuticle is elaborated into
scales, bristles and spines. Chaetonutus moves about by ciliary gliding. It feeds en
dead organic particles, and also on live protists and bacteria. Food is sucked into the
mouth by the powerful pumping pharynx. Males are unknown and so reproduction is
by parthenogenesis. Parthenogenetic females deposit eggs on aquatic weeds or in
the exuviae (parts sloughed out or cast oft) of crustaceans.