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Journal of Experimental Biology 48,427-434 (1968)
Published by Company of Biologists 1968

The Oxygen Consumption of an Echiuroid, Bonellia Viridis Rolando

A. E. BRAFIELD ¹

¹ Queen Elizabeth College, University of London, London, W.8

1. The oxygen consumption of the echiuroid Bonellia viridis has been investigated by means of a continuous-flow polarographic respirometer.

2. The general rate of oxygen consumption per unit dry weight is similar to that characteristic of polychaetes, and declines exponentially with increasing body size.

3. The rate of oxygen consumption rises in the light and falls again if darkness is restored.

4. The oxygen consumption of the isolated proboscis plus that of the isolated body region corresponds closely to that of the entire animal.

5. The oxygen consumption per unit dry weight of the proboscis is considerably higher than that of the body region.

6. The oxygen consumption of an isolated body region increases in the presence of light, but that of an isolated proboscis does not.

7. These findings are discussed in relation to the biology of the animal, observed muscular activity, and the occurrence of the pigment bonellin.