What is the clitellum and its function?
What is the clitellum and its function?
The clitellum is a thick, saddle-like ring found in the epidermis (skin) of the worm, usually with a light-colored pigment. To form a cocoon for its eggs, the clitellum secretes a viscous fluid. This organ is used in sexual reproduction of some annelids, such as leeches.
In which segments is the clitellum located?
The clitellum forms a band that can be flared, non-flared, saddle-shaped, or annular. It is generally found between segments 26 and 33. The clitellum is only found on adult worms.
What is the bump on a worm?
The bump is the clitellum, the saddle shaped swollen area 1/3 of the way back containing the gland cells which secrete a slimy material (mucus) to form the cocoon which will hold the worm embryos.
Why do worms have a band around them?
That band is called the clitellum and it’s responsible for producing another tube of mucus. This band is passed forward toward the mouth end of the worm. As it travels forward, the mucus passes over the sacs containing the worm’s own eggs, which stick to the slime.
Do leeches have clitellum?
As hermaphrodites, leeches have both male and female sex organs. Like the earthworms they also have a clitellum, a region of thickened skin which is only obvious during the reproductive period.
Why do all worms have a clitellum?
Earthworms cannot see or hear, but they are sensitive to both light and vibrations. …a swollen girdle-like structure, the clitellum, which serves an important function in reproduction. After the eggs have matured, a mucous tube, secreted from the clitellum, slides along the body as the worm moves backward.
Can earthworms lose their clitellum?
The answer is yes! During periods of drought, when soils dry up, some species of earthworms do in fact temporarily lose all secondary sexual characters such as the clitellum. When conditions become favorable, it comes back. The clitellum can also disappear at the onset of old age or senescence.
What is the purpose of the clitellum in earthworms?
32 and 37 is the clitellum, a slightly bulged, discoloured organ that produces a cocoon for enclosing the earthworm’s eggs. The body is tapered at both ends, with the tail end the blunter of the two. Earthworms cannot see or hear, but they are sensitive to both light and vibrations.
How many babies do earthworms have?
Within the egg, a young earthworm develops until it is ready to hatch. The egg is encased in an egg casing called a cocoon. The number of eggs within one cocoon can vary between species, ranging between 1 and 20 from earthworm species in the family Lumbricidae (but most species have just 1).
What is the purpose of excretory openings?
The function of the excretory system to remove wastes from the body.
How excretion is perform in earthworm?
Excretion in earthworm is performed by long, thin and coiled tubules known as nephridia. The nephridia are richly supplied with blood vessels and the glandular cells which extract water and nitrogenous waste like urea, ammonia, amino acid etc. from blood.
What is the origin of the word clitellum?
From New Latin clitellum, from Latin clītella (singular noun), clītellae (“packsaddle”, plurale tantum). ( biology) A glandular swelling in the epidermis of some annelid worms; it secretes a viscous fluid in which the eggs are deposited.
Where is the clitellum located in a leech?
The clitellum is a thickened glandular and non-segmented section of the body wall near the head in earthworms and leeches, that secretes a viscid sac in which eggs are stored. It is located near the anterior end of the body, between the fourteenth and seventeenth segments.
Where is the clitellum located in an earthworm?
The clitellum is a thickened glandular and non-segmented section of the body wall near the head in earthworms and leeches, that secretes a viscid sac in which the eggs are deposited. It is located near the anterior end of the body (around the 14th, 15th and 16th 17th segments).
What is the function of the clitella in Worms?
clitellum (plural clitella) (biology) A glandular swelling in the epidermis of some annelid worms; it secretes a viscous fluid in which the eggs are deposited.
