(Pictured is my personal favorite animal: the bearded vulture! Photo was taken by me… if you want to see more I post my photography on my instagram: SaritaWolf ;P)
Here’s how this will work…
The class Mystacocarida comprises one family: Derocheilocarididae, commonly called “Mustache Shrimp.”
Mystacocarids are tiny pigmentless crustaceans, less than 1 mm (0.04 in) long, that live in the spaces between sand grains on intertidal beaches. They have been found along the coasts of South and North America, southern Africa, and the western Mediterranean, though they likely exist elsewhere and simply haven’t been sampled for. They have a cylindrical body with ten segments: five thoracic and five abdominal. On their head they have two pairs of long antennae, a pair of limb-like mandibles and two pairs of maxillae. Fine hairs allow the animal to strain detritus from the water to feed on. They have five pairs of limbs. The first pair has been modified into maxillipeds, used for feeding. The other four pairs of limbs are small, unsegmented lobes used for swimming, with the last pair being modified in males. Their abdomen ends in a supra-anal plate, a telson, and a pair of large pincer-like furca. Their tiny larvae hatch with three head segments which are covered by a single carapace. They later moult into their adult form.
Propaganda under the cut:
2 favorites (10 points)
13 loves (39 points)
67 likes (67 points)
82 neutrals
1 dislike (-1 points)
0 hates
This group recieves
115 points
putting it below Symphyla, above Ichthyostraca
The groups with the highest points will win this round.
Remember to reblog your favs, as this tournament relies on number of votes, not percentages!
Did you miss any polls? Check the tag #/Animal Polls before it’s too late!
Cephalocarida is a class of crustaceans commonly referred to as “Horseshoe Shrimp.” There is only one known family, Hutchinsoniellidae, with 12 living species.
Both the larvae and adults are found on the sea floor, feeding on marine detritus. They are small, with an elongated, pigmentless body 2 to 4 mm in length. They have a large head, the hind edge covering the first thoracic segment. They have two pairs of antennae, with the second pair located behind the mouth. The mouth is covered by a large upper lip and flanked by a pair of mandibles. The first pair of maxillae are very small, but the second pair is similar to a pair of legs, a possible holdover from primitive arthropod ancestors. Neither the adults nor the nauplius larvae have eyes. The thorax consists of 9 limb-bearing segments, followed by 10 limbless abdominal segments and a telson. Cephalocaridans are hermaphroditic, and carry their eggs with them. Mating has yet to be observed.
Fossils of cephalocaridans have been dated to the Late Cambrian.
Our first class of crustaceans is the parasitic Icthyostraca. This class comprises the subclasses Branchiura (“Fish Lice” or “Carp Lice”) and Pentastomida (“Tongue Worms”).
Branchiurans (images 1-3) have a flattened, oval body covered by a carapace, four segments each with a pair of swimming legs, and a pair of compound eyes. They can be a few millimetres to over 30 mm (1.2 in) long, with females usually somewhat larger than the males. Adults have toothed hooks on their mandibles that allow them to cling to their hosts, and some species also have a pair of suction cups. Their mouthparts and the first pair of antennae are modified to form a hooked, spiny proboscis. Branchiurans feed primarily on marine and freshwater fish, but can also be found on other aquatic organisms such as invertebrates, salamanders, tadpoles and alligators. Some species feed on the blood of their host, while others feed on mucus and dead scales, not harming the fish. However, when they reach high enough densities, they can kill fish. Branchiurans are not permanently attached to their hosts, and females may leave them for up to three weeks to lay eggs on the surfaces of plants or rocks. When the larvae (image 2) hatch, they will swim off to select their own host.
Meanwhile, Pentastomids (image 4) parasitize the respiratory tracts of both aquatic and land vertebrates. Adults can reach 1 to 14 cm (0.4 to 5.5 in) in length, with females being larger than males. They have a mouth and two pairs of hooked legs which are used to attach to their host. They feed entirely on blood, except for the genus Linguatula which lives in the nasal cavity of carnivorous mammals and feeds mainly on mucus and dead cells. Pentastomids lay their eggs within their host, which are then either coughed out by the host or leave the body through the digestive system. At least one species has a free-living larvae, but most depend on the eggs being eaten by an intermediate host, which is usually either a fish or a small mammal. The larva hatches within the intermediate host, forming a cyst within the host’s body. It is initially round with four or six short legs, and will moult several times until it reaches its adult form. The pentastomid arrives in its main host when the intermediate host is eaten by the main host, crawling into the respiratory tract from the esophagus.
Exceptionally preserved fossils of pentastomids date back to the Cambrian. They seem to be relatively unchanged, and may be a clue as to the link between arthropods and other invertebrates.
Propaganda under the cut:
2 favorites (10 points)
19 loves (57 points)
42 likes (42 points)
73 neutrals
14 dislikes (-14 points)
4 hates (-12 points)
This group recieves
83 points
putting it below Symphyla, currently in last place
The groups with the highest points will win this round.
Remember to reblog your favs, as this tournament relies on number of votes, not percentages!
Did you miss any polls? Check the tag #/Animal Polls before it’s too late!
Branchiopoda is a class of small, mainly freshwater crustaceans that feed on plankton and detritus. They are comprised of 9 orders: Anostraca (“Fairy Shrimp”), Anomopoda (“Water Fleas”), Ctenopoda (also “Water Fleas”), Cyclestherida (“Clam Shrimp”), Laevicaudata (also “Clam Shrimp”), Spinicaudata (also “Clam Shrimp”), Haplopoda (“Predatory Water Fleas”), Onychopoda (“Water Fleas” again), and Notostraca (“Tadpole/Shield Shrimp”).
Branchiopods are found mainly in freshwater, including temporary pools and hypersaline lakes, and some in brackish water. Those that live in temporary pools are known for having eggs that can dry out for long periods of time and hatch once they are submerged in water, as an adaptation to drought. Only two families, one in Onychopoda and one in Ctenopoda, contain marine species. Most eat detritus or plankton, catching them in the setae on their appendages. Notostracans are opportunistic omnivores that will feed on algae, bacteria, other branchiopods like Anostracans, and even small fish.
Branchiopods are characterized by the presence of gills on many of the animals’ appendages, including the mouthparts. Most have compound eyes and a carapace. In the Clam Shrimp, the carapace prevents the use of the legs for swimming, so the antennae are used for locomotion instead, as they are in nauplius larvae.
The oldest known branchiopod was Rehbachiella kinnekullensis of the Upper Cambrian. Notostracans in particular have a good fossil record, with the oldest known species being Strudops goldenbergi from the Late Devonian. Notostracans are often described as “Living Fossils” due to their lack of major morphological change over 250 million years.
Propaganda under the cut:
Symphyla is a class of soil-dwelling arthropods commonly called “Garden Centipedes” or “Pseudocentipedes”, though they are not that closely related to centipedes. They are broken into two families: Scutigerellidae and Scolopendrellidae.
Symphylans live deep in soil, under stones, and in decaying wood, feeding on decaying vegetation, but can also feed on the seeds, roots, and root hairs of plants, and at least one species is predatory. They are very small, generally 2 to 10 millimetres long, and lack pigment. They have no eyes, using a pair of long, segmented antennae to perceive the world around them. Like centipedes, they also have Organs of Tömösváry at the base of their antennae, which may be used to sense vibrations. While most arthropods breathe through spiracles on the sides of their body, symphylans have a pair of spiracles on either side of their head. They have 14 segments, with legs on the first 12, though the first pair is absent or vestigial in some species. The 13th segment is fused to the 12th, and bears a pair of spinnerets. The 14th segment has a pair of long sensory hairs (trichobothria), the anus, and a small telson. Symphylans use their spinnerets to create long threads of silk. They use this mainly in reproduction, but may also spray silk as a defense or even use it to suspend themselves in the air.
Like centipedes and pauropods, symphylans do not copulate. Males deposit spermatophores on small stalks of webbing and leave them for the female. When she finds them, the female picks them up in her mouth and lays her eggs. She attaches her eggs to the sides of crevices or moss, smearing the sperm over them as she does so. The young will hatch with 6-7 pairs of legs, adding additional segments and legs with each moult. They can live up to 4 years, moulting throughout their life, though they do not add on more segments or legs after they reach their adult form.
Propaganda under the cut:
3 favorites (15 points)
30 loves (90 points)
68 likes (68 points)
45 neutrals
4 dislikes (-4 points)
1 hate (-3 points)
Symphyla recieves
166 points
putting it below Pauropoda, currently in last place
The groups with the highest points will win this round.
Remember to reblog your favs, as this tournament relies on number of votes, not percentages!
Did you miss any polls? Check the tag #/Animal Polls before it’s too late!
Tantulocarida is a class of tiny crustaceans which live as ectoparasites of copepods, isopods, tanaids, amphipods, and ostracods. They contain about 33 species within 5 families.
Tantulocarida are not only the smallest crustaceans, but also the smallest arthropods: less than 0.3 millimetres in length, the smallest (Tantulacus dieteri) being less than 85 micrometres long. They have an unsegmented, sac-like thorax and a reduced abdomen. They have no eyes.
The larvae consist of a head with an “oral disc” and no appendages, a 6-segmented thorax with 6 pairs of legs, and a limbless abdomen with 1-6 segments and a telson. Their life cycle is unique in that they transform directly from a non-feeding, free-swimming larvae into an adult parasite without any moults in between. Once the larvae finds a host, it will pierce its host’s cuticle with a stylet, upon which a rootlet system grows through the hole and into the host’s tissue. The larvae will degenerate, losing all muscle mass and becoming a permanent part of the host. The adult form develops inside the larva, and can become either a free-living, non-feeding, sexually-producing male or female, or a sac-like parthenogenetic female which will release fully developed tantulus larvae (image 2). The sexually-producing females may release nauplius larvae instead. Not much else is known about these bizarre crustaceans!
I missed a bunch of polls—has round two covered chordata yet? My faves are in there
Not yet! Chordata will begin November 21st.
Pauropoda is a class of small, pale, millipede-like arthropods. They are composed of two orders: the Hexamerocerata with eleven pairs of legs and telescopic antennae and the Tetramerocerata with eight to ten pairs of legs and short, non-telescopic antennae.
Pauropods live in soil and leaf litter worldwide, feeding on mold, fungi, and occasionally the root hairs of plants. They are small, soft-bodied animals, only 0.3 to 2 mm in length. They do not have eyes, though they do have sensory organs which detect light. Long, sensory hairs called trichobothria are located throughout their body segments. Their anal plate is distinctive, helping distinguish between species.
Like centipedes, pauropods do not mate directly. Males place a sperm packet on the ground for females to find. Females deposit the fertilized eggs on the ground and subsequently abandon them. Tetrameroceratans hatch with three pairs of legs and Hexameroceratans with six, adding a new segment after each molt in a process called anamorphosis. Pauropods will continue molting even after their adult number of segments is reached, without adding any further segments or legs.
Propaganda under the cut:
9 favorites (45 points)
44 loves (132 points)
73 likes (73 points)
50 neutrals
1 dislike (-1 points)
1 hate (-3 points)
This group recieves
246 points
putting it below Diplopoda, currently in last place
The groups with the highest points will win this round.
Remember to reblog your favs, as this tournament relies on number of votes, not percentages!
Did you miss any polls? Check the tag #/Animal Polls before it’s too late!
Malacostraca is the second largest class of crustaceans, and what most people picture when they hear the word crustacean! It contains over 40,000 species separated into 17 orders: Leptostraca, Stomatopoda (“Mantis Shrimp”), Decapoda (“Crabs”, “Lobsters”, “Crayfish”, “Shrimp”, and “Prawns”), Euphausiacea (“Krill”), Thermosbaenacea, Mysida (“Opossum Shrimp”), Stygiomysida, Lophogastrida, Spelaeogriphacea, Mictacea, Bochusacea, Cumacea (“Hooded/Comma Shrimp”), Tanaidacea, Amphipoda, Isopoda, Anaspidacea, and Bathynellacea. Many are scavengers, some are predators, some are herbivores, some are filter feeders, and some are parasites.
Malacostracans live worldwide, in marine, freshwater, and terrestrial environments, and have a large diversity of body forms. They are united by their segmentation of 20-21 body segments divided into a 5-segmented head, an 8-segmented thorax, and a 6-segmented abdomen with a telson, except in Leptostraca which has 7 abdominal segments. They have a pair of jointed appendages on each abdominal segment, though some groups have lost them secondarily. In some, three thoracic segments may be fused with the head to form a cephalothorax, the associated legs becoming maxillipeds. They have two pairs of antennae, which often branch into two parts. Their mouthparts have a pair of mandibles, maxillules, and maxillae. Many taxa have compound eyes on moveable stalks. Some have a carapace which covers the head, part or all of the thorax and some of the abdomen. The carapace may be fused with some of the thoraacic segments or hinged with two parts. This is one of the most diverse classes in the animal kingdom, and their anatomy and behavior would be hard to summarize further in just one paragraph!
The oldest malacostracans are the Leptostracans, which first appeared as fossils from the Cambrian period.
Propaganda under the cut:
I swear tumblr must be hiding some of these polls from my dashboard because I SHOULD have seen and participated in them :(
Oof, I’m sorry. ;_; I believe Tumblr does have a subscription/notification system but, if anything, the polls are posted once a day so you can set a reminder on your phone or something?
I know there was a time where Tumblr was suppressing posts that had links in them. I’m not sure if that’s still the case, but I wonder if me linking to photo sources is making them not show up?
re: the tags on the millipede post, do you think counting by percentages might do anything? i know the total votes was a big thing for determining winners earlier but if the votes are losing momentum, maybe that might be the way to go
Unfortunately I feel like that may less fair. If, as a random example, monkeys were only voted on by 10 people but all of them were loves, while falcons were voted on by 300 people and 2/3 of them were loves, the monkeys would rank higher. I know that’s a wildly exaggerated example, but I feel like the results would be less accurate if I’m just going by percentages. It’s just unfortunate that this tournament kinda depends on numbers, so the less people that see a poll, the lower it ranks.
Animals in the class Diplopoda are commonly called “Millipedes.” They comprise the orders Glomeridesmida (“Slug Millipedes”), Glomerida (“Northern Pill Millipedes”), Sphaerotheriida (“Giant Pill Millipedes”), Platydesmida (“Flat Millipedes”), Polyzoniida (“Camphor Millipedes”), Siphonocryptida, Siphonophorida, Julida, Spirobolida, Spirostreptida, Callipodida, Chordeumatida (“Sausage Millipedes”), Stemmiulida, Siphoniulida, Polydesmida, and Polyxenida (“Bristly Millipedes”).
Millipedes are detritivores, eating decaying leaves and other dead plant matter, making them important for cycling soil. Some species eat fungi or drink plant sap. Most species protect themselves with various chemical secretions, but they will also coil into a ball to protect their legs and vital areas when threatened. Polyxenids lack poison and a hard exoskeleton, so their defense involves barbed hairs that detach and stick to the mouths of predators.
Millipede heads are generally round and flattened, consisting of a pair of mandibles, a plate-like “jaw lip” called a gnathochilarium, a pair of small sensory antennae, and simple compound eyes. Some species have secondarily lost these eyes. Many species also have a pair of sensory organs called the Tömösváry organs at the bases of their antennae, which may measure humidity and/or light levels. Millipede bodies may be flattened or cylindrical, and they can be anywhere from 2 mm (1⁄16 in) to 35 cm (14 in) in length, and have from 11 to over 300 body segments. The segment behind their head is called a collum and is legless. The second, third, and fourth body segments are called haplosegments, and each have a single pair of legs on their underside. The remaining segments are called diplosegments and have two pairs of legs each. In some millipedes, the last few segments may be legless. The final segment is called the telson. It is always legless, and contains the anus. Some millipedes (those in the superorder Nematophora) have spinnerets as well, creating silk chambers in which to molt or lay their eggs. Though their name means “thousand feet”, only one species of centipede, Eumillipes persephone, has over 1,000 feet.
Millipede reproductive behavior is diverse. Bristle millipedes reproduce similarly to centipedes: depositing spermatophores onto webs they secrete, which are later picked up by females. Other millipedes have direct reproduction, meeting up to mate. Courtship may involve tapping antennae, the male running along the back of the female, offering gifts of edible glandular secretions, or even “chirping”. Males have one or two pairs of modified legs called gonopods which are used to transfer sperm to the female during copulation. A few species are parthenogenetic, having few, if any, males. Most species simply deposit their eggs on the ground, but some construct nests of dried feces or silk. In most species, the female abandons the eggs after they are laid, but some species do provide parental care for their eggs and young. Young millipedes usually hatch after a few weeks, bearing typically only three pairs of legs. Their development is anamorphic: adding on segments and legs with each moult. Some species can live up to 10 years.
Millipedes first appeared in the Silurian period. The most famous extinct millipedes, the genus Arthropleura of the Carboniferous, grew up to 2.5 metres (8 ft 2 in) long, making them some of the largest arthropods ever known.
Propaganda under the cut:
28 favorites (140 points)
71 loves (213 points)
47 likes (47 points)
17 neutrals
4 dislikes (-4 points)
1 hate (-3 points)
Diplopoda recieves
393 points
putting it below Pycnogonida, currently in last place
The groups with the highest points will win this round.
Remember to reblog your favs, as this tournament relies on number of votes, not percentages!
Did you miss any polls? Check the tag #/Animal Polls before it’s too late!
Thecostraca is is a class of crustaceans, many of which have planktonic larvae which become sessile or parasitic as adults. The most well-known group are the Barnacles (subclass Cirripedia), but Thecostraca also includes the parasitic Ascothoracida, and the mysterious Facetotecta.
Facetotecta, comprising only the genus Hansenocaris, are known only from their larvae (image 3) and adults have yet to be recognized, though some scientists believe they may actually be larval tantulocaridans.
Ascothoracidans are parasites of echinoderms and cnidarians. Most genera are meso and endoparasitic (living inside the host) while some are ectoparasitic (living on the outside of the host). They are similar in anatomy to copepods, with six pairs of legs, an abdomen with four segments, a telson, and a bivalved carapace. They feed on their host via piercing and sucking mouthparts, and some more advanced species also absorb nutrients through the carapace. They are sexually dimorphic, in many cases so much so that the smaller males will live inside the larger female’s mantle cavity.
Barnacles (subclass Cirripedia) are more well-known than other Thecostracans. Adult barnacles are sessile filter feeders, except for the infraclass Rhizocephala, which are parasites of other crustaceans. Barnacles attach themselves to a surface as adults, be that a rock, the shell of a mollusc, a ship, or a large animal such as a whale. They come in two common forms: acorn barnacles which grow their shells directly on a surface (image 4) and goose barnacles which attach themselves via a stalk (image 1). Barnacles have a carapace made of six calcareous plates, with a lid made of four more plates. They attach themselves to the substrate by means of a cement gland at the base of their antennae. Eight pairs of thoracic limbs, called cirri, extend from the carapace to filter plankton from the water and bring it towards the mouth. The hairs on these limbs are very sensitive to touch, and help the barnacle sense the world around them. They also have three simple eyes (ocelli) which can sense changes in light, allowing them to close their plates quickly if a shadow is detected.
Thecostracans have nauplius larvae, characterised by a head with antennules, antennae, mandables, and a single eye, three pairs of limbs, a carapace, and a telson. Barnacle larvae are brooded by the parent until their first moult, after which they are released to swim freely using setae.
The oldest known thecostracan fossil is dated from the Middle Cambrian. Traces of the parasitic forms have been dated from the Cretaceous.
Propaganda under the cut:
So I just posted results for Chilopoda (centipedes). Diplopoda (millipedes) are next in line to be counted but the amount of votes sort of falls off after the centipedes.
I don’t want any animals to fall by the wayside simply due to people not seeing their polls, so please check to make sure you haven’t missed any! The first three also got a lot more reblogs than the rest, which adds a lot to their numbers, so remember to do that if you want to give your favs a boost!
You can see all the polls in the tag #/Animal Polls.
Chilopoda is a class of arthropods commonly called “Centipedes”. They include the Scutigeromorphs (“House Centipedes”), Lithobiomorphs (“Stone Centipedes”), Scolopendromorphs (“Tropical Centipedes”), Geophilomorphs (“Soil Centipedes”), and the Craterostigmomorphs which consists of only two living species.
Centipede means “hundred feet”, though no species of centipede actually has exactly 100 feet, as their pairs of legs are always an odd number, ranging from 15 to 191 pairs of legs! All centipedes are venomous predators, delivering venom through a pair of fang-like front legs called forcipules. Prey include other invertebrates like earthworms, fly larvae, collembolans, and other centipedes. The giant Scolopendromorphs are able to tackle larger prey including vertebrates such as lizards, frogs, birds, mice, snakes, and even bats. They live in tropical or desert habitats worldwide, but only in moist environments, meaning they must be more active under cover or at night. Many species lack eyes, though some have simple eyes that allow them to distinguish light from dark. Some species use their first pair of legs similarly to antennae, sensing vibrations and even using them to “hear.” Their bodies consist of 15 or more segments, with one pair of legs attached to the sides of each segment. Their back legs, called “ultimate legs”, are modified depending on species, and can be elongated and thin, thickened, or pincer-like. They are not used for walking, but instead can be used in defensive displays, for hunting, or for interspecies fighting, and they often play a role in mating rituals and are usually sexually dimorphic. Centipedes range from a few millimetres to 30 cm (1 foot) long.
Centipedes are generally solitary, not even meeting up to mate. Males will leave spermatophores on the ground for females to pick up. However, females provide parental care, coiling around both their eggs and young and grooming them (first image). Some species grow anamorphically: adding on segments with each moult until they reach their adult number of segments. Some species grow epimorphically: growing all their segments and legs as an embryo before hatching, and not adding on any more when they moult.
Centipedes arose during the Late Silurian, but were considerably rare until the Triassic Period. The modern Scolopendromorphs and Scutigeromorphs appeared in the Cretaceous.
Propaganda under the cut:
43 favorites (215 points)
70 loves (210 points)
66 likes (66 points)
37 neutrals
12 dislikes (-12 points)
0 hates
This group recieves
479 points
putting it below Arachnida and closely above Pycnogonida, currently in second place
The groups with the highest points will win this round.
Remember to reblog your favs, as this tournament relies on number of votes, not percentages!
Did you miss any polls? Check the tag #/Animal Polls before it’s too late!
