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Animal Classification
Phylum Porifera: marine sponges, freshwater sponges
Sponges mostly found in oceans but some freshwater species exist
Specialized cells that do specialized jobs but no tissues
Live singly or in colonies
Sponges give off a toxic substance for protection. Some of these we use as medicines. Sponges are
collected and used by man.
Skeleton made of calcareous material (lime or calcium carbonate), siliceous (silicon), or spongin
(spongy flexible material)
Water flows in through pores – oxygen and food are obtained there, wastes are removed
Reproduction is by budding and also sexual reproduction
Can have radial symmetry or be asymmetrical
Phylum Coelenterata: Jellyfish, Portuguese man of war
Two layered organism with jellylike material in between
Moves by waving its body and tentacles
One opening in body - mouth is surrounded by tentacles - it leads to where digestion takes place
Simple nervous system called a nerve net
Radial symmetry
Phylum Echinodermata: starfish, sea cucumber, sea urchin, sand dollar
Spiny skinned, Live in salt water only
5 arms and live along the bottom of the ocean
Inner skeleton, travels by using tube feet
Has a mouth and stomach
Eyespot detects light, poor nervous system
Pumps water through the body as a means of circulation
Uses the spines on the body to take in oxygen
Separate sexes, eggs and sperm are released into the water for fertilization
Regeneration – can re-grow missed body parts
Radial symmetry
Phylum Mollusca: Squid, clam, oyster, snail, slug
Classes: bivalvia, gastropoda, cephalopoda
Soft fleshy body (as big as 6 feet) with muscular foot for locomotion, most have shells for protection
Food and oxygen brought in through siphon system – gills, then through digestive gland, intestine, anus.
No nervous system, simple impulses by a ganglion (nerve), Has heart, blood and vessels
Male and female sexes
Bilateral symmetry
Phylum Platyhelminthes: Flatworms (planaria, tapeworms)
Simplest worm – one opening (gastrovascular cavity) – some are parasitic
Found in marine or fresh water
No skeleton – cilia help it move as well as two layers of muscles
3 cell layers: endoderm, mesoderm, ectoderm
2 nerve cords for a nervous system. Simple brain is called ganglia
2 eyespots to sense light
Reproduces by fission (splits in half)
Bilateral symmetry
Eats small worms, insects, and microscopic material
Phylum Nematoda: hookworm, pinworm, trichinella
Thin round bodies, two openings – “tube within a tube”
Live in fresh water, marine water, or the soil
A majority of them are parasites
No skeleton, digestive system runs the length of their bodies
Two nerve cords, no vessels, can be up to 4 ft. in length
Sexual reproduction
Bilateral symmetry
Phylum Annelida: earthworms, leeches
Most highly developed worms
Body is divided into segments or parts – no skeleton
Bristles called setae to help in movement, has two sets of muscles
Two openings, more advanced digestion and includes a crop (storage) and a gizzard (grinds food)
Nervous system with simple brain and a nerve cord
Blood and blood vessels with 5 hearts
Exchanges gases through the skin (must stay moist to do so)
Are hermaphroditic (has both sexes in the same body) but sperm is exchanged to another earthworm
Bilateral symmetry
Phylum Arthropoda: Most abundant of all the animal phyla
Classes of arthropods: Chilopoda, Diploda, Merostomata, Crustacea, Arachnida, Insecta
Has jointed limbs (appendages) that are paired
Exoskeleton made of chitin, Segmented body having two or three sections (head, thorax, abdomen or
cephalothorax and abdomen)
2 openings, digestion runs through organism
Open circulatory system
More advanced brain and nerves
Striated muscles
Gills, trachea, or spiracles for respiration (depends upon class)
Separate sexes mostly, sexual reproduction
Bilateral symmetry
Phylum Chordata:
Classes of chordates: Agnatha, Chondricthyes, Osteicthyes, Amphibia, Reptilia, Aves, Mammalia
Have backbone and an inner skeleton
Generally have 4 appendages that are paired (legs, arms, wings, or fins)
Mouth has a tongue. Some have teeth. Have a digestive system
Most developed of brain and nervous system, 2 eyes and some sense of hearing
Can be warm or cold-blooded, exchanges gases through use of lungs or gills
Sexual reproduction
Complex skin that is covered by feathers, scales, or hair
Bilateral symmetry