Back Pedicellarie German Pédicellaire French Pedicellariën Dutch Pedicelária Portuguese Педицеллярии Russian Педицеларија Serbian நுண் இடுக்கி Tamil Pedisel Turkish
A pedicellaria (pl.: pedicellariae) is a small wrench- or claw-shaped appendage with movable jaws, called valves, commonly found on echinoderms (phylum Echinodermata), particularly in sea stars (class Asteroidea) and sea urchins (class Echinoidea).[1][2]
Each pedicellaria is an effector organ with its own set of muscles, neuropils, and sensory receptors and is therefore capable of reflex responses to the environment. Pedicellariae are poorly understood but in some taxa, they are thought to keep the body surface clear of algae, encrusting organisms, and other debris in conjunction with the ciliated epidermis present in all echinoderms.
These structures are derived from the mesodermal skeleton.[3]
- ^ Calver, Mike; Lymbery, Alan (2009). Environmental Biology. Cambridge University Press. p. 641. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
- ^ Wisehart, Gary D.; Rempala, Erin C.; Leboffe, Michael J. (2012). Photographic Atlas of Marine Biology. Morton. p. 142. ISBN 9781617310294. Retrieved December 6, 2024.
- ^ Chipman, Ariel D. (2024). "Glossary". Organismic Animal Biology: An Evolutionary Approach. Oxford University Press. p. xxv. ISBN 9780192893581. Retrieved December 6, 2024.