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Marine Science 30324 > Marine organisms > Flashcards

Marine organisms Flashcards

Learn some of the main groups of plankton, nekton, and benthos

1
Q

What is the general name for those organisms that live free in the water but can’t successfully swim against the ocean currents (are ultimately at their mercy)?

A

Plankton

The drifters

  • In terms of large scale movement, just go with the flow
  • The key is their ability to move relative to the currents: it’s not that they can’t swim at all (although indeed many can’t), but rather that what swimming they can achieve isn’t enough to overcome an overall drifting with the currents
  • Even those that can swim quite well for their size simply can’t cover the distance necessary to escape the currents
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2
Q

What is the general name for the photosynthetic plankton?

A

Phytoplankton

  • Comprised of cyanobacteria (a type of photosynthetic bacteria) and various protists
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3
Q

What is the general name for the nonphotosynthetic (heterotrophic) eukaryotic plankton?

A

Zooplankton

  • Comprised of various animals and protists
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4
Q

What is the general name for the prokaryotic plankton?

A

Bacterioplankton

  • As a practical matter, this is typically meant to refer just to the nonphotosynthetic prokaryotic plankton (since the photosynthetic ones are functionally phytoplankton)
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5
Q

What is the general name for the viral (as in literally viruses) plankton?

A

Virioplankton

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6
Q

What is the general name for organisms that spend every stage of their life (their entire life cycle) as plankton?

A

Holopolankton

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7
Q

What is the general name for those organisms that only live a portion of their life (certain stages of their life cycle) as plankton?

A

Meroplankton

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8
Q

What is the general name for organisms that live free in the water and can successfully swim against the ocean currents (are not simply at their mercy–can go against the flow)?

A

Nekton

The swimmers

  • Can cover enough distance to escape the currents and achieve movement independent of the water motion
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9
Q

What is the general name for those organisms that live in or on the seafloor?

A

Benthos

The bottom dwellers

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10
Q

What is the name for those organisms that swim independently of the currents, but are also strongly associated with the sea floor?

A

Demersal organisms

Nektonic, but also benthic

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11
Q

Generally speaking, what are plankton?

A

Drifters: organisms that live free in the water but can’t successfully swim against the ocean currents (are ultimately at their mercy)

  • In terms of large scale movement, just go with the flow
  • The key is their ability to move relative to the currents: it’s not that they can’t swim at all (although indeed many can’t), but rather that what swimming they can achieve isn’t enough to overcome an overall drifting with the currents
  • Even those that can swim quite well for their size simply can’t cover the distance necessary to escape the currents
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12
Q

Generally speaking, what are phytoplankton?

A

Photosynthetic plankton

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13
Q

Generally speaking, what are zooplankton?

A

Nonphotosynthetic eukaryotic plankton

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14
Q

Generally speaking, what are bacterioplankton?

A

Prokaryotic plankton,
especially the nonphotosynthetic ones

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15
Q

Generally speaking, what are virioplankton?

A

Viral (as in literally viruses) plankton

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16
Q

Generally speaking, what are holoplankton?

A

Those organisms that spend every stage of their life (their entire life cycle) as plankton

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17
Q

Generally speaking, what are meroplankton?

A

Those organisms that spend only a part of their life as plankton

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18
Q

Generally speaking, what are nekton?

A

Swimmers: organisms that live free in the water and can swim against the ocean currents (are not ultimately at their mercy)

  • Can cover enough distance to escape and achieve movement independent of the water motion
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19
Q

Generally speaking, what are benthos?

A

Bottom dwellers: organisms that live in or on the seafloor

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20
Q

Generally speaking, what are demersal organisms?

A

Organisms that swim like nekton, but are also strongly associated with the sea floor like benthos

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21
Q

What is the term for the main (most common) photosynthetic bacteria?

A

Cyanobacteria

  • Mainly planktonic (= phytoplankton)
  • Technically bacterioplankton as well, but nobody thinks of them that way (their importance is as contributors to photosynthesis)
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22
Q

What are the large unicellular photosynthetic eukaryotes with cell walls of silica (glass) called?

A

Diatoms

  • Mainly planktonic (= phytoplankton), but some benthic
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23
Q

What is the name for the large phytoplankton that have two flagella in grooves, one longitudinal (down the length) and one transverse (encircling the waist)?

  • This causes them to spin while swimming
A

Dinoflagellates

  • Mainly planktonic and photosynthetic (= phytoplankton), but some are heterotrophic and/or endosymbiotic
  • Their main, important role as a group is photosynthesis
  • dino = “whirling” in this case
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24
Q

What is the name for the medium sized phytoplankton that are armored in a coating of overlapping calcium carbonate plates?

A

Coccolithophores

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25
Q

Which group are the single-celled nonphotosynthetic eukaryotes that extend threadlike pseudopodia through pores in their shell made of calcium carbonate or, less commonly, scavenged mineral particles?

A

Foraminiferans

  • Mainly benthic, but some planktonic

(foraminifera, forams)

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26
Q

What is the name of the single-celled zooplankton that have skeletons of silica (glass) and pseudopodia that radiate out from their central mass?

A

Radiolarians

(radiolaria)

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27
Q

Which zooplankton are single-celled, ciliated, and shaped like a vase?

A

Tintinnids

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28
Q

What is the name for the group of large carnivorous zooplankton that are ovoid, globular, and transparent, usually with two sticky contractile tentacles and eight comb bands formed of fused cilia running down their bodies?

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Ctenophora

A

Ctenophores

(comb jellies)

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29
Q

What is the name for the group of etremely large, carnivorous zooplankton characterized by a “medusa” stage consisting of a bell or umbrella morphology with trailing tentacles full of stinging cells?

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria

A

Jellies

  • Also have a polyp stage that is frequently benthic

(jellyfish)

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30
Q

What is the name for the group of teardrop- or torpedo-shaped herbivorous zooplankton that are typically about 1-2mm long with two pronounced antennae?

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea

A

Copepods

  • There are also some benthic and parasitic species
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31
Q

What is the name for the large (> 1 cm) zooplankton that look like glassy anorexic shrimp?

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea

A

Euphausiids

  • Typically herbivorous

(krill)

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32
Q

What are the names for the large zooplankton with stalked eyes and sometimes a calcareous shell, with a flattened foot that acts as a fin for swimming?

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda

A

with shell: Pteropods (sea butterflies)

and

without shell: Heteropods (sea elephants)

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33
Q

What is the name for the long, arrow-shaped carnivorous zooplankton with a head, trunk, and tail, often with one or two pairs of lateral fins?

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chaetognatha

A

Chaetognaths

(arrow worms)

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34
Q

What is the name for the very large barrel-shaped transparent zooplankton that propel themselves forward by squirting water out of their bodies?

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata

A

Salps

  • Sometimes divide asexually via budding to form long chains (colonies)
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35
Q

What is the name for the group of multicellular algae that are typically yellowish-brownish to greenish in color, and includes the giant kelps?

Kingdom: Chromista
Division (Phylum): Ochrophyta
Class: Phaeophyceae

A

Brown algae

(phaeophytes)

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36
Q

What is the name for the group of multicellular algae that are typically reddish in color?

Kingdom: Archaeplastida (Plantae)
Division (Phylum): Rhodophyta

A

Red algae

(rhodophytes)

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37
Q

What is the name for the group of multicellular algae that are typically bright green in color?

Kingdom: Archaeplastida (Plantae)
Division (Phylum): Chlorophyta

A

Green algae

(chlorophytes)

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38
Q

What are these?

A

Cyanobacteria

Photosynthetic bacteria, important as phytoplankton

39
Q

What are these?

A

Diatoms

Large unicellular phytoplankton with cell walls of silica (glass)

  • Mainly planktonic, but some benthic
40
Q

What are these?

A

Coccolithophores

Medium sized phytoplankton armored in a coating of overlapping calcium carbonate plates

41
Q

What are these?

A

Dinoflagellates

Large phytoplankton having two flagella in grooves, one longitudinal (down its length) and one transverse (encircling its waist)

  • This causes them to spin while swimming (dino = “whirling” in this case)
42
Q

What are these?

A

Foraminiferans

Single-celled heterotrophic eukaryotes that extend threadlike pseudopodia through pores in their shells made of calcium carbonate or, less commonly, scavenged mineral particles

  • Mainly benthic, some planktonic

(foraminifera, forams)

43
Q

What are these?

A

Radiolarians

(radiolaria)

Single-celled zooplankton with skeletons of silica (glass) and pseudopodia that radiate out from their central mass

44
Q

What are these?

A

Tintinnids

Single-celled, ciliated zooplankton that are shaped like a vase

45
Q

What are these?

  • Common name for the group
  • Kingdom
  • Division (phylum)
  • Class
A

Brown algae

Kingdom: Chromista
Division (Phylum): Ochrophyta
Class: Phaeophyceae

46
Q

What are these?

  • Common name for the group
  • Kingdom
  • Division (phylum)
A

Red algae

Kingdom: Archaeplastida (Plantae)
Division (Phylum): Rhodophyta

47
Q

What are these?

  • Common name for the group
  • Kingdom
  • Division (phylum)
A

Green algae

Kingdom: Archaeplastida (Plantae)
Division (Phylum): Chlorophyta

48
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
A

Sponges

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Porifera

49
Q

What kind of organism is this?

  • General common name
  • Main characteristics
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
A

Ctenophore

(comb jelly)

Very large, globular, usually ovoid, transparent, carnivorous zooplankter usually with eight comb bands formed of fused cilia running down its body and two sticky contractile tentacles

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Ctenophora

50
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Main characteristics
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
A

Jellies

Extremely large, carnivorous zooplankton characterized by “medusa” stage consisting of a bell or umbrella morphology with trailing tentacles full of stinging cells

  • Have a polyp stage, frequently benthic, in their life cycle as well

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria

(jellyfish)

51
Q

What is this?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Sea anemone

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Anthozoa

52
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Soft (Alcyonacid) corals
Sea fans (Gorgonians), sea fingers, sea whips, sea pens, etc.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Anthozoa

53
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Stony (Scleractinid) corals
Elkhorn, staghorn, shelf or table, brain, mushroom, fire, encrusting, etc.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Anthozoa

  • May be individual, colonial, or reef-building colonial (hermatypic)
54
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Sea stars

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Echinodermata
Class: Asteroidea

(starfish)

55
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Brittle stars

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Echinodermata
Class: Ophiuroidea

56
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Sea urchins
sand dollars are a flattened, burrowing type of sea urchin

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Echinodermata
Class: Echinoidea

57
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Sea cucumbers

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Echinodermata
Class: Holothuroidea

58
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
A

Moss animals
bryozoans

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Bryozoa / Ectoprocta

59
Q

What is this?

  • General common name
  • Main characteristics
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
A

Chaetognath
(arrow worm)

Long, arrow-shaped carnivorous zooplankter with a head, trunk, and tail, often with one or two pairs of lateral fins

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chaetognatha

60
Q

What is this?

  • Common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Subphylum
A

Horseshoe crab

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Chelicerata

61
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Bristle worms

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Annelida
Class: Polychaeta

(polychaetes)

62
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Clams

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia

63
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Mussels

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Bivalvia

64
Q

What are these?

  • General common names
  • Main characteristics
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Pteropods (sea butterflies; have shell)
Heteropods (sea elephants; no shell)

Large zooplankton with stalked eyes and a flattened foot that acts as a fin for swimming, sometimes with a calcareous shell

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda

65
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Sea slugs
Sea hares, nudibranchs, ets.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda

66
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Nudibranchs

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda

All nudibranchs are sea slugs, but not all sea slugs are nudibranchs. Nudibranchs (“naked gills”) are distinguished from other sea slugs by the tuft of fluffy gills protruding from their rears.

67
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
A

Flatworms

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Platyhelminthes

Flatworms are generally much thinner than sea slugs, with less developed tentacle structures on their heads and no external gill tufts as seen in nudibranchs.

68
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Limpets

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda

69
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Chitons

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Polyplacophora

70
Q

What is this?

  • General common name
  • Main characteristics
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Subphylum
A

Copepod

Small (typically 1-2 mm long) teardrop- or torpedo-shaped herbivorous zooplankton with two pronounced antennae

  • There are also some benthic and parasitic species

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea

71
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Main characteristics
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Subphylum
A

Euphausiids

Large (> 1 cm) zooplankton that look like glassy anorexic shrimp

  • Mostly herbivorous

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea

(krill)

72
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Subphylum
A

Crabs

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea

73
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Subphylum
A

Shrimp

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea

74
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Subphylum
A

Lobsters

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea

75
Q

What is this?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Subphylum
A

Amphipod

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea

(beach flea, beach hopper)

76
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Subphylum
A

Isopods

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea

77
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum
  • Subphylum
A

Acorn barnacles

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea

78
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Subphylum
A

Gooseneck barnacles

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea

79
Q

What is this?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Octopus

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda

80
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Squid

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda

81
Q

What is this?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Cuttlefish

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda

  • There can be a lot of gray area between squid, cuttlefish, and to a lesser extent octopuses, and individual common names often reflect this ambiguity
    • Example: bobtail squids are really more like cuttlefish
82
Q

What is this?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Chambered nautilus

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Cephalopoda

83
Q

What are these?

  • General common name
  • Main characteristics
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
A

Salps

Large barrel-shaped transparent zooplankton that propel themselves forward by squirting water out their body

  • Sometimes divide asexually via budding to form long chains (colonies)

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata

84
Q

What are these?

  • General group name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Ray-finned bony (Osteichthyid) fishes

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii

The overwhelming majority of fish in the world are both bony and ray-finned.

  • The other main branch of bony fishes are the lobe-finned fishes, which we aren’t concerned with since there are so few of them
85
Q

What are these?

  • General group name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Cartilaginous (Chondrichthyid) elasmobranch fishes

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Elasmobranchii

  • For our purposes, effectively cartilaginous = elasmobranch
    • Technically not all cartilaginous fishes belong to the elasmobranchs, since there is one other tiny main branch we will not encounter

(sharks, rays, skates, and sawfish)

86
Q

What is this?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Sea turtle

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia

87
Q

What are these?

  • General common name for the group
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Baleen whales (mysticetid cetaceans)
gray, humpback, blue, etc. whales

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia

88
Q

What are these?

  • General common name for the group
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Toothed whales (odontocetid cetaceans)
dolphins, orcas, sperm whale, etc.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia

89
Q

What are these?

  • General common name for the group
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

True seals (phocid pinnipeds)
harbor seals, elephant seals, leopard seals, etc.

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia

90
Q

What is this?

  • General common name for the group
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Sea lions (otariid pinnipeds)

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia

91
Q

What animal is this?

  • General common name
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Walrus (odobenidid pinniped)

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia

There is only one species of walrus!

92
Q

What are these?

  • General common name for the group
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Sea cows
manatees and dugongs

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia

93
Q

What is this?

  • General common name for the group
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Sea otter

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia

94
Q

What are these?

  • General common name for the group
  • Kingdom
  • Phylum
  • Class
A

Penguins

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves

Marine Science 30324 (1 decks)

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