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Echinoderm Body Plan: Water Vascular System

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State

An echinoderm moves and feeds using a water vascular system, a network of fluid-filled canals powering tube feet, showing radial adult symmetry.

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A sea star's tube feet, driven by water pressure, grip surfaces and pry open bivalve shells.

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Adult echinoderm radial symmetry is a secondary trait — larvae are bilaterally symmetrical, matching their deuterostome ancestry.