BENTHOS (Benthic Animals)
BENTHOS (Benthic Animals)
BENTHOS (Benthic Animals)
BENTHOS
BENTHOS
(Benthic Animals)
CIMAbraham
MBIO 102
Chapter 7
BENTHOS
CIMAbraham
MBIO 102
Chapter 7
BENTHOS
The much larger Class Anthozoa, with over 6000 species, includes sea
anemones and a variety of corals, as well as less familiar forms such as sea
whips and sea fans. Sea anemones are common residents of intertidal and
subtidal communities, but are also found at over 10000 m depth; they are
solitary animals, ranging in diameter from about 1 cm to more than 1 m.
CIMAbraham
MBIO 102
Chapter 7
BENTHOS
CIMAbraham
MBIO 102
Chapter 7
BENTHOS
➢ Class Ophiuroidea
comprises almost 2000
species of long-armed
brittle stars and basket
stars. Deep-sea
photographs often show
ophiuroids carpeting the
seafloor, where they feed
on deposited sediments, on Representative benthic echinoderms: (a) feather star
(crinoid); (b) sea cucumber (holothurian); (c) brittle star
small dead or living (ophiuroid); and (d) sea urchin (echinoid). (All scales in
animals, or on suspended mm.)
organic material.
➢ Some 800 species of spiny sea urchins and flattened sand dollars are
placed in the Class Echinoidea. Urchins are conspicuous members of the
macrobenthos of rocky shores, kelp beds, and coral reefs; they use a
special chewing apparatus to feed on all types of organic material, but
most shallow-water species are regarded as basically herbivorous and
deep-sea species (to about 7000 m) are considered to be deposit feeders.
CIMAbraham
MBIO 102
Chapter 7
BENTHOS
➢ The Class Holothuroidea (with 500 species) includes the elongated sea
cucumbers, named because of their resemblance to the vegetable. The
epibenthic species of holothurians can be either deposit or suspension
feeders; infaunal species swallow the sand or mud in which they live.
Although also found in shallow waters, the greatest number of abyssal
echinoderms are sea cucumbers, and they feature prominently in deep-
sea photographs.
➢ The Class Crinoidea is the most ancient echinoderm group, and presently
includes about 650 species of animals known commonly as feather stars
and sea lilies. Feather stars live mostly in depths above 1500 m, and
although they often cling to the seafloor, they are mobile animals that are
capable of crawling as well as of swimming temporarily.
CIMAbraham
MBIO 102
Chapter 7
BENTHOS
Barnacles (Cirripedia) are familiar marine animals and the only sessile
crustaceans. There are about 800 species, including a large number that are
parasitic in other marine invertebrates. These shrimplike animals live within
an external covering of calcareous plates. Some attach directly to substrates,
others are stalked. The more familiar barnacles form crowded aggregations in
rocky intertidal regions, but some species have become specially adapted to
attach to mobile surfaces and live on the bodies of whales, sharks, sea snakes,
manatees, fish, or crabs.
Benthic decapod crustaceans include the familiar crabs, lobsters, and shrimp,
and the group has both epifaunal and infaunal representatives. Decapods show
their greatest diversity in shallower waters, but a few species live at depths of
5000-6000 m. The group includes predators, omnivores, and scavengers. Some
are filter feeders (e.g. burrowing mud shrimp and mole crabs), but detritus rather
than plankton is often the dominant food.
CIMAbraham
MBIO 102