9 Major Animal Phyla

Phylum Porifera

Sponges

Major Characteristics

• asymmetrical bodies
• "pore-bearer" in Latin
• pump water through pores/ expel through large opening at top

5000 species

asexual and sexual reproduction

Special Characteristics

• spend adult life attached to hard surface - sessile --> once though to be plants
• are used for "natural sea sponges"
• filter feeders (food suspended in water comes in through pores)
• internal fertilization
• asexual through budding or fragmented pieces

Phylum Cnidaria

Coral, jellyfish, sea anemones, hydra, Portuguese Man-of-War

Major Characteristics

• "nettle" - stinging cells
• gut with only one opening
• "mouth" surrounded by ring of tentacles (capture food and defense)

9,000 species

sexual and asexual reproduction

Special Characteristics

• have polyp (vase shaped) and medusa (form you know) stages in life cycle

Phylum Platyhelminthes

Flatworms

planaria, flukes, tapeworms

Major Characteristics

• soft, unprotected body
• capable of regeneration

20,000 species

asexual (regeneration) and sexual reproduction

Special Characteristics

• most are parasites
• most are hermaphrodites --> exchange sperm don't normally fertilize their own eggs

Phylum Nematoda

Roundworms

hookworms, heartworms and pinworms

Major Characteristics

• tapered at both ends
• sexual reproduction

15,000 species

Special Characteristics

• infest virtually all kinds of plants or animals (parasitic)
• some eggs can survive in soil for up to 10 years waiting for a host.

Phylum Annelida

Segmented worms

Earthworms, leeches, tube worms, and clam worms

Major Characteristics

• soft, segmented body
• different regions are specialized for different functions

9,000 species

sexual reproduction

Special Characteristics

• leeches are used in medicine
• earthworms eat their weight in soil each day --> feces is great fertilizer and burrowing is great for aeration (room for roots/O2/water)

Phylum Mollusca

clams, scallops, mussels, octopus, oysters, snails

Major Characteristics

• soft body and a shell (1 or 2 pieces)
• shell provides for muscle attachment and protection
• mantle (fold of muscular tissue) and muscular foot

150,000 species

sexual reproduction

Special Characteristics

• 2nd largest phylum
• all animals in this phylum have some type of shell
• gastropoda = stomach foot
• cephalopoda = head foot --> can move by jet propulsion

Arthropoda

spiders, insects, centipedes, scorpions, shrimp, crabs, lobsters

Major Characteristics

• segmented body
• arthropod = jointed appendages
• body covered with an exoskeleton made of chitin
• molt (shed their skin) in order to grow

1 million species

sexual reproduction

Special Characteristics

• some scientists think that there may be as many as 30 million species of arthropods yet to be discovered

Phylum Echinodermata

sea stars, sea cucumbers, sand dollars, sea urchins

Major Characteristics

• means "spiny-skinned" in Latin
• 5-part radial symmetry
• water vascular system --> fluid filled tubes that operate tube feet

7,000 species

asexual (regeneration) and sexual reproduction

Phylum Chordata

sea squirts, lancets, vertebrates

45,000 species

(42,500 vertebrate species)

Major Characteristics

• notochord
• dorsal nerve cord
• post-anal tail
• pharyngeal slits

Special Characteristics

-vertebrates

• lose the pharyngeal slits
• nerve cord --> brain and spinal chord
• notochord --> replaced by vertebrae
• increased complexity of many organ systems
• grouped into 5 classes: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals

9 Major Animal Phyla

nautilus

blue ringed octopus

jellyfish

planaria

squid

coral reef

earthworm

spicules - sponge "skeleton"

flatworm

cuddle fish

fan worm

amphibian

feather duster worm

sea star

sea urchin

lobster

spider

fish

hydra

bird

sand dollars

feather star

insect

scorpion

sea cucumbers

reptile

sexual reproduction

mammal