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Invertebrates of the Animal Kingdom Living on Planet Earth Move through the program using the arrow keys below this message. Keyboard and mouse options will also work. Invertebrates Invertebrates are part of the Animal Kingdom. Other animal classes include: mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, and amphibians. Invertebrates All members of the kingdom of animals have one thing in common—they have a mouth or similar method of ingesting food. If they absorb food they belong to another kingdom of life. Invertebrates Have mouths or other methods of ingesting food at some stage of their lives Have no backbone or spinal column to support their bodies Are cold-blooded Breathe with gills or pores Invertebrates Invertebrates were the first animals to appear on Earth. They live in habitats ranging from the darkest caves, the deepest seafloor and on the slopes of the highest mountains. Invertebrates This group has the most numerous species and variations of life support. More than 95 percent of animal species are invertebrates. Some are soft bodied and others are protected by a shell or a body case. Invertebrates You are probably familiar with many bugs—ants, flies, spiders and fluttering butterflies. Perhaps you’ve been to the ocean and picked up seashells or watched crabs dive into their holes. If you have ever played in dirt or lifted up a rock, you’ve been surprised by the creatures that live underground. Invertebrates There is no common characteristic among the estimated 1,300,000 invertebrate species except that they have no bones or cartilage to support their bodies. They make up the largest portion of biomass on the Earth. Invertebrates Some animals are so small you need a microscope to see them. Rotifers are less than 1/25,000 of an inch (0.001mm) in size while others like the giant squid can be almost 60 feet long (18m). Let’s look at how invertebrates are shaped. A rotifer as seen on a microscope. Invertebrates Body Shape There are two basic symmetrical body plans. One is circular, round, like the sea anemone and has a mouth in the center. A starfish, even with five or more arms has no head and a mouth in the center. Invertebrates Body Shape The second style has bilateral symmetry. Its shape has a distinct head with a mouth and right and left sides. Many have appendages such as claws and legs just as we have arms and legs. Invertebrates Body Support All invertebrates have a supporting layer—think of it as a skin or shell. The soft ones such as worms have hydroskeletons made of flexible protein fibers. This external layer acts like a balloon and holds body fluids and tissues under pressure. Invertebrates Body Support Some animals, like a sponge, squid or octopus have hard mineral elements inside their tissues. This body support is called an endoskeleton. Invertebrates Body Support Others have an exoskeleton which is the hard shell such as you’d notice on ants and seashells. Exoskeletons are jointed and often flexible. Invertebrates Each species selectively eats other invertebrates, plant and microbial life forms. They are a vital part of the web of life providing high quality nutrition to many amphibians, fish, reptiles, birds and mammals of the Animal Kingdom. Invertebrates Sponge To help you understand the amazing abilities of all living things to survive, mature and reproduce, we will describe how the sponge adapts to life on planet Earth. Invertebrates Sponge Sponges are unique in the Animal Kingdom. They don’t have any nerves, muscles or a stomach. Their cells don’t form tissue such as skin or other organs. The sponge is a collection of cells where each specializes in a particular job. Invertebrates Sponge Some cells collect food, others digest the food, some build the endoskeleton using slivers of minerals to help the organism grow, while other cells help defend the sponge from disease, parasites and predatory attack. Invertebrates Sponge At some point a sponge may become injured or sick. Each cell can take on a different job to help the sponge survive and recover. If only a fragment or a single cell of the sponge survived it would multiply cells and eventually become a large thriving animal. Invertebrates Sponge Regeneration of cells that grow into a large, colorful animal may take hundreds of years. Given the proper conditions such as enough light, clean water and food source, the sponge will survive and flourish. Invertebrates If you are fortunate enough to swim in an ocean reef, be sure to respect the sponges, corals and other sensitive life forms by not touching them. The oils from your skin and pressure from your hands, feet and swim gear will quickly damage these sensitive animals. Invertebrates Reproduction Many invertebrates reproduce with the help of eggs. Some eggs are fertilized while others are not. There are many species that are both male and female and many that are neither. Invertebrates Reproduction Some, as in the example of the sponge, replicate by fragmenting and others create buds that eventually develop into adults. Each stage of development, or metamorphosis, is a process of replicating cells. The animal divides cells and transforms its appearance until it becomes a mature adult. Invertebrates Bioluminescence Fireflies and glowworms are a few of the invertebrates found on land that produce light to attract and communicate with others of the same species. It is estimated that 90% of deep sea marine life produce bioluminescence. Invertebrates Hibernate Microscopic Water Bears feed on the juices of mosses and other plants. If the habitat dries out they can curl up and hibernate for 25 years. Invertebrates Self Defense Invertebrates can be experts in defending themselves. We’ll learn some of the special features animals possess to adapt and survive in the wild. Under water predators lose sight of their prey as they are “smoked” by the defensive ink. Invertebrates Playing Dead Those with a hard body case rely on this armor to protect themselves. Many will lay on their back or roll up in ball appearing small and lifeless. Invertebrates Protection Sea and snail shells are built by the animal’s mantle organ. Each creature makes the hard shell by expelling minerals from its food. The shell grows in a spiral form throughout its life. The mantle protects the animal by closing off the shell with what looks like a flat foot. Invertebrates Mimicry Some animals use tricks of mimicry by changing their shape or color to frighten an attacker making it think it is a more dangerous species. This ability can be found in many classes of animals. Is it an owl or a butterfly? Invertebrates Mimicry Naturalists Henry Walter Bates and Alfred Russel Wallace, in an expedition to the Amazon in 1848, found that some insects, particularly butterflies, gained protection when they took on the appearance of a species considered dangerous by predators. The Viceroy (right) imitates the appearance of the poisonous Monarch. Invertebrates Mimicry Modern evolutionary developmental scientists are studying the effects of proteins and hormones on genes. These components help a gene change the color and spot sizes in butterfly wings so that, with their first flight, they blend in with the seasonal colors and replicate the eye spots markers of the more dangerous species. Invertebrates Camouflage Camouflage is a common strategy used by invertebrates to hide from predators in their environment. Some mimic the physical shape and seasonal colors of environmental features found in their ecosystem. Invertebrates Poison Sea slugs have bright colors that warn other animals that they are dangerous. Poison is stored in the skin of the slug. If a predator tries to eat them they will be injured by the neurotoxin. Invertebrates Poison Cone shells are deadly even to humans. They stab fish and other animals with a hollow tooth that injects their prey with poison. Fire coral leaves an acid on the skin that doesn’t hurt until you reach the surface of the air. Invertebrates There are many interesting characteristics found among all the animal species. It’s fun to learn what they have in common and some of the things that make them different. Invertebrates We hope you enjoyed learning about the invertebrates of the Animal Kingdom. Invertebrates Orders Cnidarians Flatworms and Roundworms Segmented worms Mollusks Chitons and Tooth Shells Gastropods Bivalves Cephalopods Invertebrates Orders Arachnids Spiders Scorpions, Ticks and Mites Sea Spiders and Horseshoe Crabs Crustaceans Crabs Centipedes and Millipedes Invertebrates Orders Insects Wingless Insects Lice, Thrips and Webspinners Dragonflies, Mayflies and Stoneflies Grasshoppers, Katydids and Crickets Stick Insects, Mantises and Cockroaches Termites and Earwigs True Bugs Invertebrates Orders Insects Lacewings, Caddis Flies and Fleas Beetles Flies Butterflies Moths Ants, Bees and Wasps Invertebrates of the Animal Kingdom Images Courtesy of: Microsoft Clipart www.office.com www.coral.org Contributions from abcteach.com staff members, and others as identified. Copyright 2010 abcteach.com Click on the image above to find complimentary paragraph and essay writing assignments. Have your students work as a class, in groups or individually to develop their thinking and writing skills. Invertebrates of the Animal Kingdom Living on Planet Earth
