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A plant cuticle is a protecting film covering the outermost skin layer of leaves, young shoots and other aerial plant organs (aerial here meaning all plant parts not embedded in soil or other substrate) that have no periderm. The film consists of lipid and hydrocarbon polymers infused with wax, and is synthesized exclusively by the epidermal cells.
Chloragogen cells, also called y cells, are star-shaped cells in annelids involved with excretory functions and intermediary metabolism. These cells function similar to the liver found in vertebrates. Chloragogen tissue is most extensively studied in earthworms. [1]
A cuticle (/ ˈ k juː t ɪ k əl /), or cuticula, is any of a variety of tough but flexible, non-mineral outer coverings of an organism, or parts of an organism, that provide protection. Various types of "cuticle" are non- homologous , differing in their origin, structure, function, and chemical composition.
Earthworms store their partners' sperm in spermathecae ("sperm stores") and then the clitellum produces a cocoon that collects ova from the ovaries and then sperm from the spermathecae. Fertilization and development of earthworm eggs takes place in the cocoon. Leeches' eggs are fertilized in the ovaries, and then transferred to the cocoon.
As soft-bodied invertebrates, they lack a true skeleton, but their structure is maintained by fluid-filled coelom chambers that function as a hydrostatic skeleton. [ citation needed ] Earthworms have a central nervous system consisting of two ganglia above the mouth , one on either side, connected to an axial nerve running along its length to ...
Oligochaetes are well-segmented worms and most have a spacious body cavity (coelom) used as a hydroskeleton.They range in length from less than 0.5 mm (0.02 in) up to 2 to 3 metres (6.6 to 9.8 ft) in the 'giant' species such as the giant Gippsland earthworm (Megascolides australis) and the Mekong worm (Amynthas mekongianus).
Polychaete cuticle does have some preservation potential; it tends to survive for at least 30 days after a polychaete's death. [9] Although biomineralisation is usually necessary to preserve soft tissue after this time, the presence of polychaete muscle in the nonmineralised Burgess shale shows this need not always be the case. [ 9 ]
The protonephridia of nemertea and flatworms are different in structure, [53] and in position – the flame cells of nemertea are usually in the walls of the fluid vessels and are served by "drains" from which the wastes exit by a small number of tubes through the skin, [27] while the flame cells of flatworms are scattered throughout the body.