ANNELIDA: THE METAMERIC BODY FORM

Characteristics/Key Features of the Phylum

Annelid bodies are organized into a series of ringlike segments, hence the name Annelida, which is
derived from the Latin word annellus, meaning “ring.”

What is not externally obvious, however, is that the body is divided internally as well.

The diagnostic characteristic of the annelids is metamerism, which is the segmental arrangement of
body parts in an animal. The body of an annelid is divided into segments that are separated by septa,
which are internal walls between each segment. In many annelids, bristles called setae are attached to
each segment.

Metamerism allows efficient utilization of separate coelomic compartments as a hydrostatic skeleton for
support and movement. Metamerism also lessens the impact of injury and makes tagmatization, the
specialization of segments, possible.
One advantage of the segmental arrangement of coelomic
spaces and muscles is the creation of hydrostatic compartments,
which allow a variety of advantageous locomotor and supportive
functions not possible in nonmetameric animals that utilize a

hydrostatic skeleton. Each segment can be controlled independently

of distant segments, and muscles can act as antagonistic
pairs within a segment. The constant volume of coelomic fluid
provides a hydrostatic skeleton against which muscles operate.
Resultant localized changes in the shape of groups of segments
provide the basis for swimming, crawling, and burrowing.

Although segments are separated, materials and information pass between segments. Annelids have a
closed circulatory system that carries blood from one segment to another. And a ventral nerve cord
connects the nerve centers or ganglia in each segment with one another and the brain. These neural
connections are critical features that allow the worm to function and behave as a unified and
coordinated organism.

(Tagmatization is the specialization of body regions in a metameric animal. Tagmatization is best

developed in arthropods which have the head, thorax, and abdomen. However, some annelids also
display tagmatization. Most segments in annelids are similar to one another, although they may be
modified to perform special functions. For example, different segments may possess different
combinations of organs or perform different functions relating to reproduction, feeding, locomotion,
respiration, or excretion). Some body segments may carry one or more pairs of eyes, several pairs of
antennae, and other sense organs. Other segments may be specialized for functions such as respiration.
In many annelids, bristles called setae are attached to each segment.)

Groups/Subdivisions with traced phylogenetic lineage

Annelids are divided into three classes – oligochaetes, leeches, and polychaetes.
Class Oligochaeta contains earthworms and their relatives. Oligochaeta, terrestrial earthworms and related
marine and freshwater worms, with some 3100 species. Oligochaetes are annelids that typically have
streamlined bodies and relatively few setae compared to polychaetes. (Oligochaete comes from the
Greek words oligos, meaning “few” and chaite, meaning “hair.”) Most oligochaetes live in soil or fresh
water.

Class Hirudinea contains the leeches, which are typically external parasites that suck the blood and body
fluids of their host. Others prey on small invertebrates. Hirudinea, leeches, mainly freshwater predators or
bloodsuckers, with about 500 species. Leeches have powerful suckers at both ends of their bodies that help
them cling to their hosts. The posterior sucker can also anchor a leech to rocks or leaves as it waits for a
host to pass.
Doctors are finding that leeches can reduce swelling after surgery. After surgeries in which a body part is
reattached, hungry leeches are applied to the area. They also secrete a fluid that prevents blood from
clotting. This anti-clotting mechanism helps relieve pressure and congestion in the healing tissues.

Class Polychaeta contains sandworms, bloodworms, and their relatives. Polychaeta, which are free-living,
almost entirely marine bristleworms, comprising some 8000 species. Polychaetes are marine annelids that
have paired, paddlelike appendages tipped with setae. Polychaetes live in cracks and crevices in coral
reefs; in sand, mud, and piles of rocks; or even out in the open water. Some burrow through or crawl
over sediment.

According to this traditional interpretation, the ancestral polychaetes gave rise to modern polychaetes through
adaptive radiation and a group of annelids that invaded freshwater. This freshwater invasion required the ability to
regulate the salt and water content of body fluids. The oligochaetes are assumed to have evolved from this group,
and some of these early oligochaetes are believed to have given rise to the Hirudinea. Recent cladistic analysis of
the phylum Annelida has cast a shadow on this traditional interpretation. These studies suggest that the phylum
Annelida is not a monophyletic grouping and that the polychaetes arose from a metameric ancestor independently
of the oligochaetes and leeches. The oligochaetes and leeches form a single clade, and share important
characteristics, including the presence of a clitellum. Notice in figure 13.18 that no synapomorphies (derived
characteristics) are unique to the oligochaetes. Instead, the oligochaetes are defined by the absence of leech
characteristics. These facts support the conclusion that the oligochaetes and leeches should be combined into a
single group—Clitellata. If these conclusions are true, then the Polychaeta, Clitellata, Arthropoda (see chapters 14
and 15), and Pogonophora probably all had their origins in an ancestral metameric species, and the phylum name
“Annelida” should be abandoned.

Ecology of Annelids

Earthworms and many other annelids spend their lives burrowing through soil, aerating it, and mixing it
to depths of 2 meters or more. Their tunnels provide passageways for plant roots and water and allow
the growth of beneficial, aerobic soil bacteria.

Oligochaetes are scavengers that feed on dead and decaying vegetation. Earthworms pull plant matter
down into the soil and pass it through the gut. There, they grind it, partially digest it, and mix it with
bacteria that help the plant matter decompose. Worms also “mine” minerals from deeper soil layers,
bringing them up to the surface. Earthworm feces (castings) are rich in N, P, K, micronutrients, and
beneficial bacteria.

Earthworms are also an important diet of many birds, moles, skunks, toads, and snakes.