Question

The antherozoids of Funaria are
a) Aciliate
b) Biflagellate
c) Multiciliate
d) Monociliate

Answer 1

Hint: Funaria belongs to the family of the mosses. The male gametophyte in it is known as the antherozoids. It does not have any vascular part of the plant present in its body. It has absence of true leaves, roots and stems.

Complete answer:
The moss plant Funaria has the presence of the male reproductive organ known as the antheridium. The antheridium produces the male gametophyte known as the antherozoids which are biflagellate in nature. The secondary protonema stage marks the beginning of the production of the sex organs including the both male and female ones.
In the protonema stage the plant tends to develop from the spore and forms upright spirally arranged leaves. It also has presence of the root like structures which help its attachment to the soil. The sex organs are multicellular in nature. The female sex organ present in the plant is known as the archegonium. It produces a single egg which when fused with the antherozoid forms the zygote. The antherozoids are released into the water which then swim to the egg and then form the zygote. The life cycle of the Funaria or the moss plants has two stages present which includes the protonema stage and the leafy stage. The Funaria plant has leaf like, stem like and root like structures present and has absence of the true roots, stems and leaves.

So, the answer is ‘biflagellate’.

Note:
The bryophytes are considered as the amphibians of the plant kingdom to which mosses and liverworts belong. They are named so as they can survive both in water and in land. They require water in order to reproduce and spend the rest of their life on land.