A hydrostatic skeleton or hydroskeleton is a structure found in many cold-blooded organisms and soft-bodied animals consisting of a fluid-filled cavity, the coelom, surrounded by muscles. Cold-blooded organisms (called poikilotherms - "of varying temperature" maintain their body temperatures in ways different from Mammals and Birds The coelom (pronounced "seal-um" is a fluid filled cavity formed within the Mesoderm. The pressure of the fluid and action of the surrounding muscles are used to change an organism's shape and produce movement, such as burrowing or swimming. Hydrostatic skeletons have a role in the locomotion of echinoderms (starfish, sea urchins), coelenterates (jellyfish), annelids (earthworms), nematodes, and other invertebrates. Echinoderms (Phylum Echinodermata) are a phylum of marine Animals (including Sea stars) Coelenterata is an obsolete long term encompassing two animal phyla, the Ctenophora (comb jellies and the Cnidaria ( Coral animals true Jellyfish are free-swimming members of the phylum Cnidaria. They have several different basic morphologies that represent several different cnidarian classes including the The annelids, collectively called Annelida (from Latin anellus "little ring" are a large phylum of Animals comprising Earthworm is the usual name for the largest members of Oligochaeta (which is either a class or subclass depending on the author in the phylum Annelida In classical The nematodes or roundworms ( Phylum Nematoda from Greek (nema "thread" + -ode "like" are one of the most common An invertebrate is an Animal lacking a Vertebral column. The group includes 98% of all animal Species — all animals except those in the Chordate They have some similarities to muscular hydrostats. A muscular hydrostat is a biological structure found in Animals It is used to manipulate items (including food or to move its host about and consists mainly of Muscles
Sea anemones and earthworms do not have a single bone in their bodies. Instead, they are supported by pressure from a liquid which consists mainly of water in their cells and in spaces between their body. The hydrostatic skeleton allows the earthworm to burrow through the earth.
External links
- http://www.cco.caltech.edu/~brokawc/Bi11/AnimalPhylogeny2.html
- http://bama.ua.edu/~clydeard/bsc376/lecture9.htm
- http://soma.npa.uiuc.edu/courses/physl490b/models/leech_swimming/leech_swim.html
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