Zool 250 Invertebrate Zoology Computer

Animations*
TAXON/TOPIC

SNAPSHOT

ANIMATION SUBJECT
Parts of a compound microscope and their functions.

MICROSCOPE

Test your ability to identify various parts of a microscope

and provides details about their function.

Form and feeding of collar flagellates.

Includes animations of a solitary form, a colonial form and

a pelagic form.

Illustrates water flow and particle capture in these iconic

protists.

PROTISTA
(Choanoflagellata)

Water flow and feeding in sponges.

Includes animations of sponge cell types and body plans.

Illustrates water flow through each sponge form and

particle capture by choanocytes.

PORIFERA

Life cycle of the hydroid Obelia.

CNIDARIA
(Hydrozoa)

CNIDARIA
(Scyphozoa)

Illustrates all stages in a typical hydrozoan life cycle.

Includes a self-testing quiz on the parts of hydrozoan

polyps, medusae and other life-cycle stages.

Life cycle of a typical scyphozoan jellyfish.

Illustrates all stages in a typical scyphozoan life cycle.

Includes a self-testing quiz on the parts of scyphozoan

polyps, medusae and other life-cycle stages.

Ultrafiltration, transport and resorption in bilaterian excretory
systems.
BILATERIA

Includes animations of both protonephridial and

metanephridial excretory systems, and an enlarged view of
podocytes where ultrafiltration takes place in a
metanephridial system.

Water flow and feeding in a filibranch bivalve (mussel).

Includes animations of water flow through the mantle

cavity, particle transport on the filibranch gill surfaces,
particle sorting, particle capture and transport by cilia on
the gill filaments.

Illustrates major body parts and details of filibranch gill

structure.

MOLLUSCA
(Bivalvia)

Water flow and feeding in a eulamellibranch bivalve (clam).

Includes animations of water flow through the mantle

cavity, particle transport on the eulamellibranch gill
surfaces, particle sorting, ejection of pseudofeces, particle
capture and transport by cilia on the gill filaments.

Illustrates major body parts and details of eulamellibranch

gill structure.

MOLLUSCA
(Bivalvia)

Water flow and jet propulsion in a squid.

Includes animations of water flow through the mantle

cavity, muscles involved in expansion and contraction of
the mantle, and valves involved in jetting.

Illustrates major body parts, and the structure and

arrangement of mantle muscles.

MOLLUSCA
(Cephalopoda)

Form and locomotion of a nereid worm.

Includes animations of the unusual body movements of a

swimming polychaete and detailed animations of the
muscles that control body-segment shape and parapodial
shape during locomotion.

Illustrates key body segments and the major segmental and

parapodial muscles.

ANNELIDA
(Polychaeta)

Form and locomotion of an earthworm.

Includes animations of the body movements of a

burrowing earthworm and detailed animations of the
muscles that control body-segment shape during
burrowing.

Illustrates key body segments and regions, and the major

body wall muscles and body cavities.

ANNELIDA
(Oligochaeta)

Form and function of a decapod limb and claw.

Includes animations of a claw and walking leg of a typical

decapod (e.g., crab, lobster or shrimp), showing how
muscles connect to tendons (apodemes) to make the
limb/claw work.

Illustrates key parts and muscles of a decapod limb.

ARTHROPODA
(Crustacea)

Form and feeding of sea urchins.

Includes animations of the motion of podia, spines,

pedicellaria, and the various parts of the unique rasping
structure of sea urchins (Aristotle's lantern).

Illustrates key parts, and skeletal elements and muscles of

Aristotle's lantern.

ECHINODERMATA
(Echinoidea)

Sea squirt anatomy and feeding.

CHORDATA
(Urochordata)

Includes animations of water flow through the pharyngeal

cavity, particle capture and transport by cilia-propelled
mucus, and particle ingestion in a solitary sea squirt.

Detailed animations illustrate how particles are captured

and transported by the mucus sheet.

Illustrates major body parts a sea squirt and details of

pharyngeal basket structure.

Invertebrate Diversity Quiz.

INVERTEBRATE
DIVERSITY QUIZ

Test your ability to recognize animal taxa from pictures

and your ability to assign animals to phyla.

This unique quiz asks you which picture of 9 displayed

represents a given animal group and to which phylum it
belongs.

Question order is random, as are the decoy images, so the

quiz is different each time you take it.

* Most of these animations were written and directed by Rich Palmer, and programmed by Heather Kroening. Heather
wrote, directed and programmed the microscope animation, and the hydrozoan & scyphozoan life cycles.
To view the animations properly you must have the most recent version of the Flash browser plugin installed (download
plugin). For other teaching animations, visit the Biological Sciences multimedia page.

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(revised Jan. 1, 2015)