Pedicellaria
Pedicellariums are small "grasping organs" of the echinoderms . They consist of mesenchyme , chalky grasping elements (two in starfish and three in sea urchins ), muscles, nerve and sensory cells and are covered by living epidermis . Pedicellariums serve as a cleaning organ and free the body surface from growth such as algae, barnacles or small sessile tube worms .
The avicularia of the bog animals are analogous to this .
literature
- Lexicon of Biology . Volume 6, Verlag Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau 1985, ISBN 3-451-19644-1 , p. 314.