Animal Symmetry and Functions

1. Animals with radial symmetry function differently than animals with bilateral symmetry. Unlike animals with bilateral symmetry, these organisms use their appendages, usually tentacles, to bring in food to its mouth, which is located at its center. Also, animals with radial symmetry have less complicated systems than animals with bilateral symmetry. The radial symmetry body plan involves appendages radiating out from the center of the organism, this means that most systems are not included in these animals.

Since the radial symmetry body plan has little to no systems, this makes the animals less intelligent than the bilateral symmetry body plan. This means animals with radial symmetry cannot react as well as other animals. This also means the organism cannot, see, taste, smell, or think as well, as bilateral symmetry animals. Due to this disability, any animal that follows this body plan has adapted to be able to react without these senses. Though this makes it harder for the animal to function, by using a different life style it can survive. The cnidarian eats by pulling food in with its tentacles. This lack of senses means that the cnidarian relies on prey swimming into its tentacles. After eating, the waste then exists the way it entered, through the mouth. These animals have limited motion, relying mainly on currents to move, or not even moving at all. Cnidarians also reproduce fairly simply. When they reproduce asexually, they bud. This means that a new cnidarian grows off of an existing one. When they reproduce sexually, the female makes an abundance of eggs, and the male secretes sperm in the hope of fertilizing the eggs. That is the lifestyle of the