x INVERTEBRATES x
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Annelida
Leech Leeches are segmented worms that belong to the phylum Annelida and comprise the subclass Hirudinea. Like the oligochaetes, such as earthworms, leeches share a clitellum and are hermaphrodites. Nevertheless, they differ from the oligochaetes in significant ways. For example, leeches do not have bristles and the external segmentation of their bodies does not correspond with the internal segmentation of their organs. Their bodies are much more solid as the spaces in their coelom are dense with connective tissues. They also have two suckers, one at each end. |
Crustacea
Halocaridina rubra (ʻōpaeʻula) Halocaridina rubra is endemic to the Hawaiian islands, and most commonly found in anchialine pools in fresh lava substrates on Hawaiʻi and Maui Island; it has also been found in limestone karst pools and hypogeal habitats in limestone on older islands, such as Oʻahu. Its habitat is unique and sparsely represented on five of the eight high Hawaiian Islands |
Arachnida
Theridion grallator ( happy face spider or nananana makakiʻi) On the islands on Maui, the happy types seem to follow Mendelian Inheritance rules, while on other Hawaiian islands the body inheritance patterns seem to be sex limited. The T. grallator is endemic to O’ahu, Moloka’i, Maui, and the Islands of Hawaii in rainforests at elevations of 300-2,000 m. |
Echinodermata
Acanthaster planci (crown-of-thorns starfish) The body form of the crown-of-thorns starfish is fundamentally the same as that of a typical starfish, with a central disk and radiating arms. Its special traits, however, include being disc-shaped, multiple-armed, flexible, prehensile, and heavily spined, and having a large ratio of stomach surface to body mass. Its prehensile ability arises from the two rows of numerous tube feet that extend to the tip of each arm. In being multiple-armed, it has lost the fivefold symmetry (pentamerism) typical of starfish, although it begins with this symmetry in its life cycle. |