Symmetry in Biology

By Ashlen Mezrahi
Radial Symmetry: Characteristics
● Taxon Radiata - polyphyletic assemblage of different phyla of the
Animal kingdom

● Top and bottom

● Mouth

● No head

● No rear
Radial Symmetry: Jellyfish

C4v D4
Special Case: Echinodermata
● Starfish, sea urchins, and sand dollars
● Bilateral symmetry at the larval stage
● Fivefold symmetry as adults
○ Pentamerism
○ Five parts; 72° apart

Larval Stage: C2v

Fivefold symmetry in Echinodermata (C5v)
Bilateral Symmetry

● 99% of animals
● Mirror image; left and right side
○ Sagittal Plane
● Internal organs asymmetrical
● Evolved trait over 500 million years ago
Bilateral Symmetry: Evolutionary
importance
● Forward Movement
○ Seeking food, shelter, home, and reproductive mates
○ Active, directed movement requires an elongated body
form with head (anterior) and tail (posterior) ends
● Development of a head and the concentration of sensory
organs
Bilateral Symmetry (C1v)
Symmetry = Fitness
● Symmetrical Faces “more attractive”
○ Healthier; genetically fitter
■ Asymmetry: depression, anxiety, headaches and even stomach
problems
○ Easier for the brain to recognize
● Experiments with birds and insects revealed that females prefer
to mate with males possessing the most symmetrical sexual
ornaments
○ Female barn swallows prefer males with long, symmetrical
tail feathers
Facial Symmetry: Average Example
Very Symmetrical Face
Many more complicated symmetrical shapes in
nature! Example- Platonic Solid: Icosahedron
2) Clorophyll
protein of a
pea

3) Circogonia
Icosahedra
Radiolaria

4) Radilarian
organism

5) Aids virus
Sources
https://www.livescience.com/4002-symmetry-nature-fundamental-fact-human-bias.html

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symmetry_(biology)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symmetry_in_biology

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiata

http://study.com/academy/lesson/types-of-symmetry-in-animals.html

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/557109416380865419

http://jwilson.coe.uga.edu/EMT668/EMAT6680.2002.Fall/Nazarewicz/7210_final_2/7210_Project/

https://quizlet.com/14788158/ab-2-flash-cards/