Morphology of Earthworm, Cockroach and Frog

Morphology of a living organism includes its external features like body colour and
size and internal attributes like bone and organ structure. Read on to learn about
the external morphology of earthworms, frogs and cockroaches in detail.

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Introduction
Morphology is a branch of biology that deals with the study of the form and the
structure of organisms and their specific structural features. This includes many
aspects like shape, structure, colour pattern, size and appearance and as well as,
it includes internal parts like bones and organs. This article explains the
external morphology of some creatures like the earthworm, frog and cockroach.

Morphology of Earthworm
Earthworm is a reddish-brown terrestrial invertebrate that inhabits the upper layer
of the moist soil. During the day, they live in burrows made by boring and
swallowing the soil. In the gardens, they can be traced by their faecal deposits
known as worm castings. The common Indian earthworms are Pheretima and Lumbricus.

Earthworm is nocturnal i.e., active during night. Body is cylindrical, bilaterally

symmetrical, elongated with metameric segmentation. Number of segments is about
100-120 which are similar and length is about 150 mm.

Anterior end consists of the mouth and the prostomium, a lobe that serves as a
covering for the mouth and as an earthworm may crawl. The first body segment is
called the peristomium (buccal segment) which contains the mouth.

Earthworm is brown or clay-coloured because of pigment porphyrin which protects the

body from the injurious effects of bright light.

Three regions in the body of earthworm are: Preclitellar (1-13 segment), Clitellar
region (14, 15, 16 segment) and Postclitellar (17-last segment).

Spermathecal pores are located ventrolaterally in the intersegmental grooves of

5/6, 6/7, 7/8 and 8/9 (4 pairs). Female genital pore is on the 14th segment on the
midventral line and one pair of male genital pores are present on the 18th segment
on the ventrolateral side. Genital papillae are present on segments 17th and 19th.

The Dorsal surface is marked by a dark medium mid-dorsal line because of the dorsal
blood vessel.

Along the mid-dorsal line in intersegmental grooves are located dorsal pores from
12/13 to the last but one segment. Body wall consists of cuticle (thin and non-
cellular), epidermis (single layer of columnar epithelial cells), muscular layer
and parietal peritoneum.

Epidermis consists of tall, columnar cells of four types – Supporting cells,

Glandular cells, Basal cells and sensory cells. In each body segment, except the
first, last and clitellum, there are rows of S-shaped setae, embedded in the
epidermal pits in the middle of each segment. Setae can be extended or retracted.
Their principal role is in locomotion.

Setae and contraction of muscles help in locomotion.

The body cavity of earthworm is true coelom and is filled with milky white alkaline
coelomic fluid.

Chloragogen cells are present in coelomic fluid. These are small, star-shaped,
yellow cells concerned with storage of reserve food, deamination of proteins,
formation of urea and also excretory in function (because of their connection with
storage and synthesis of glycogen and fat, deamination and urea formation these are
considered analogous to the liver of vertebrates).

Morphology of Cockroach
Two species of cockroaches commonly found in India are Periplaneta americana and
Blatta orientalis. Periplaneta americana is the largest and most common species.

Cockroaches are nocturnal and cursorial. Cosmopolitan in distribution, but more

abundant in warm, humid areas. Cockroaches are brown or black-bodied. Bright
yellow, red and green coloured cockroaches are found in tropical regions. Size of
cockroaches ranges from 1/4 inches to 3 inches (0.6 cm to 7.6 cm). P.americana is
34-53 mm long. They are serious pests & vectors of several diseases.

Body is divided into the head, thorax and abdomen.

Head
Triangular, anterior-most region of the body, lies at right angle to the long axis.
The distal narrow mouth bearing end is directed downwards (hypognathous). Head is
covered by sclerites and bears sense organs, mouth parts and mouth.

All six sclerites are fused to form a capsule. Cervicum (neck, extension of
prothorax) is present between head and thorax and allows movement in all directions
with the help of muscles. Sense organs include two large kidney-shaped black
compound eyes (formed of a number of ommatidia).

Antennae arise from membranous sockets which are made of many segments-podomeres.
Antenna bears a thermoreceptor, moves in all directions, possesses bristles and
sensory receptors that help in monitoring the environment. Mouthparts of
cockroaches are mandibulate type or cutting & chewing type. Mouthparts consist of
labrum (upper lip), labium (lower lip), maxillae (segmented), mandibles &
hypopharynx. A median flexible lobe, acting as tongue (hypopharynx), lies within a
cavity enclosed by mouth parts.

Thorax
Thorax consists of three segments-prothorax, mesothorax and metathorax. Thorax
bears three pairs of jointed appendages and two pairs of wings on mesothorax and
metathorax. Exoskeleton of each segment consists of four chitinous plates called
sclerites which are joined by an articular/arthrodial membrane. The dorsal sclerite
is called tergum or tergite. Ventral sclerite is sternum or sternite and two
lateral sclerites are called pleura.

Each leg is formed by five segments, viz, coxa, trochanter, femur, tibia and tarsus
(tarsus is made of five tarsomeres).

Cockroach has two pairs of wings. The first pair is called mesothoracic
wings/tegmina (= elytra) and the second pair of wings are called metathoracic
wings. In resting position metathoracic wings lie folded below the tegmina.
Cockroaches do not fly, but wings help in escaping from danger.

Body
In adult cockroaches’ abdomen is made up of ten segments in both male and females.
But in the embryonic stage eleven segments are present. In females, the 7th sternum
is boat shaped and together with the 8th and 9th sterna forms a brood or genital
pouch whose anterior part contains female gonopore, spermathecal pores and
collateral glands. In males, genital pouch or chamber lies at the hind end of the
abdomen bounded dorsally by 9th and 10th terga and ventrally by the 9th sternum. It
contains dorsal anus, ventral male genital pore and gonapophysis.
Anal cerci, a pair of many jointed structures are present on the tergite of 10th
segment in both sexes. These are sensitive to sound and other vibrations. Anal
styles, a pair of small, spine-like unjointed structures are present on sternite of
9th segment in males only. They are sensitive to touch.

Morphology of Frog
It is called bullfrog due to its large size and loud sound. Its length is 17cm and
breadth is 8 cm. The Indian bull frog is found in freshwater ponds, ditches, pools
and under stones. The frog is poikilothermic and undergoes hibernation (winter
sleep) and aestivation (summer sleep). Female lays eggs (spawn) and male sheds
sperms on them. It can change colour to hide from enemies (camouflage). This
protective colouration is called mimicry.

Skin is smooth and slippery due to the presence of mucus. Colour of dorsal side of
the body is generally olive green with dark irregular spots. On the ventral side
the skin is pale yellow. Skin is always maintained in moist condition. The
integument is most useful in cutaneous respiration and absorbs water because the
frogs do not drink water.” Shed skin once in a month during active life (moulting).

Body of the frog is divided into a head (flat and triangular) and trunk which is
perfectly streamlined and most suited for aquatic life; the neck and tail are
absent. Above the mouth a pair of nostrils are present. The eyes are bulging and
guarded by upper eyelid (stationary), lower eyelid (movable) and transparent
nictitating membrane. Nictitating membrane protects the eyes when a frog is in
water. On either side of the eyes a membranous tympanum (ear) is present which
receives sound signals.

Forelimbs are short without web and end in four digits; the hind limbs are long and
muscular with web in between the toes and end in five digits. The hind-limbs are
larger and muscular than forelimbs. The limbs help in swimming, walking, leaping
and burrowing. The cloacal aperture is present in the midventral line between
thighs. Sexual dimorphism is exhibited by the presence of vocal sacs and copulatory
pads on first digits of forelimbs in males. Males are slender and darker than
females.