Some Echinoderms Will Never Grow Up

photo courtesy of deepseanews.com

In life, people think of being “immature” or not growing up as a bad thing. But in this case, for species like echinoderms, it can be advantageous. Xyloplax is an example of an Echinoderm that has adapted to its preferred environment. The article goes on to name list the five living examples of Echinoderms and some examples of each. When Xyloplax was first discovered, it apparently did not fit into any of the five classes because it did not have all the characteristics of one in particular. For example, making it unique, the Xyloplax does not have arms; however it was then found out that it was most closely relate to the family Pterasteridae. It has also been hypothesized that Xyloplax is “an actual Asteroid with arrested development so that sexually mature individuals occur in an otherwise juvenile body” (Dr. M.). In other words, Xyloplax’s characteristics allow it to live in pieces of wood on the seafloor. Because it is so small, it can fit into tiny spaces in the wood and eat bacteria. The moral of the article is that next time you try and tell someone to grow up, think first about how they may be perfect the way they are!

Blog Post Author: Erica DeMello, Section 124-28

Article Citation
Janies, D., J. Voight, and M. Daly. "Some Echinoderms Will Never Grow Up." Deep Sea

     News. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Apr. 2013.