Zoology 1

Prof. Michael S. Flores

THE 9 ANIMAL PHYLA

PORIFERA
Porifera, more commonly known as sponges, comes from the Latin words porus meaning "pore", and ferre which means "to bear." They are simple animals, lacking the internal systems of other multicellular organisms.

Characteristics of Phylum Porifera

No definite symmetry. Body multicellular, few tissues, no organs. Cells and tissues surround a water filled space but there is no true body cavity. All are sessile, (live attached to something as an adult). Reproduce sexually or asexually, sexual reproduction can be either gonochoristic or hermaphroditic. Has no nervous system. Has a distinct larval stage which is planktonic. Lives in aquatic environments, mostly marine. All are filter feeders. Often have a skeleton of spicules.

CNIDARIA
Phylum Cnidaria comprises incredibly diverse creatures, including colonial siphonophores, massive medusae jellyfish, box jelly fish, corals. Cnidarian kinship through a common ancestor is based on the common characteristic of stinging cells called nematocysts that they all possess. In fact, the name Cnidaria (silent C) comes from the Greek word "cnidos" that means stinging nettle.

Characteristics of Cnidarians
Radially Symmetrical. Body multicellular, few tissues, some organelles. Body contains an internal cavity and a mouth. Two different forms exist, medusa and polyp Reproduction is asexual or sexual. Has a simple net like nervous system. Has a distinct larval stage which is planktonic. Lives in aquatic environments, mostly marine. Mostly carnivorous otherwise filter feeders May have a minimal skeleton of chiton or calcium carbonate.

NEMATODA
The nematodes or round worms (phylum Nematoda ) are the most diverse phylum of pseudocoelomates , and one of the most diverse of all animals. Nematode species are very difficult to distinguish; over 28,000 have been described, of which over 16,000 are parasitic.

Characteristics of Nematodes
Bilaterally symmetrical, and vermiform. Body has more than two cell layers, tissues and organs.
Body cavity is a pseudocoel, body fluid under high pressure.

Body possesses a through gut with a subterminal anus. covered in a complex cuticle. Has a nervous system with pharyngeal nerve ring. Has no circulatory system (no blood system) Reproduction normally sexual and gonochoristic.

Feed on just about everything.

Live just about everywhere, many species are endoparasites.

ANNELIDA
Annelida is a group commonly referred to as segmented worms, and they are found worldwide from the deepest marine sediments to the soils in our city parks and yards. It is composed of three major groups; Polychaeta, Oligochaeta (earthworms etc.) and Hirudinea (leeches). Earthworms and leeches are the familiar annelids for most people, but polychaetes comprise the bulk of the diversity of Annelida and are found in nearly every marine habitat, from intertidal algal mats downwards.

Characteristics of Annelida
Bilaterally symmetrical, and vermiform. Body has more than two cell layers, tissues and organs. Body cavity is a true coelom, often divided by internal septa.
Body possesses a through gut with mouth and anus. possesses 3 separate sections, a prosomium, a trunk and a pygidium. . Has a nervous system with an anterior nerve ring, ganglia and a ventral nerve chord.

Has a true closed circulatory system.

No true respiratory organs.

Live in most environments.

PLATYHELMINTHES
A phylum of the invertebrates, commonly called the flatworms. They are bilaterally symmetrical, non segmented, dorsoventrally flattened worms characterized by lack of coelem, anus, circulatory and respiratory systems, and exoor endoskeleton. Three classes occur in the phylum: (1) the Turbellaria, mainly free-living, predacious worms; (2) the Trematoda, or flukes holozoic ento- or endoparasites; and (3) the Cestoda,or tapeworm, saprozoic endoparasites in the enteron of vertebrates, whose larvae are found in the tissues of invertebrates or vertebrates.

Characteristics of Platyhelminthes
Bilaterally symmetrical. Body having 3 layers of tissues with organs and organelles. Body contains no internal cavity.
Possesses a blind gut (i.e. it has a mouth but no anus)

Has Protonephridial excretory organs instead of an anus

Has normally a nervous system of longitudinal fibres rather than a net

Generally dorsoventrally flattened.

Reproduction mostly sexual as hermaphrodites. Mostly they feed on animals and other smaller life forms.

MOLLUSCA
The Mollusca, common name molluscs or mollusks, is a large phylum of invertebrates animals. There are around 85,000recognized extant species of mollusks. This is the largest marine phylum, comprising about 23% of all the named marine organism. Numerous mollusks also live in fresh flower and terrestrial habitats. Mollusks are highly diverse, not only in size and in anatomical structure, but also in behaviour and in habitat.

Characteristics of Mollusks
Bilaterally symmetrical. Body has more than two cell layers, tissues and organs.
Body without cavity. Body Possesses a through gut with mouth and anus. Has a nervous system with a circum- oesophagal ring, ganglia and paired nerve chords. Has an open circulatory system with a heart and an aorta.

Has gaseous exchange organs called ctenidial gills.

Has a pair of kidneys. Reproduction normally sexual and gonochoristic.

ARTHROPODA
By nearly any measure, the most successful animals on the planet are the arthropods. They have conquered land, sea and air, and make up over three-fourths of all currently known living and fossil organisms, or over one million species in all. Since many arthropod species remain undocumented or undiscovered, especially in tropical rain forests, the true number of living arthropod species is probably in the tens of millions.

Characteristics of Arthropods
Bilaterally symmetrical (in most cases). Body has more than two cell layers, tissues and organs.
Body cavity a true coelom. Most possesses a through gut with anus (in most cases). Body possesses 3 to 400+ pairs of jointed legs. Body possesses an external skeleton (in most cases). Body is divided in 2 or 3 sections.

Nervous system includes a brain and ganglia.

Possesses a respiratory system in the form of tracheae and spiracles (in most cases). Feed on everything and live everywhere.

ECHINODERMA
Echinoderms (Phylum Echinoderma ta) are a phylum of marine animals. Echinoderms are found at every ocean depth, from the intertidal zone to the abyssal zone. Aside from the problematic Arkarua, the first definitive members of the phylum appeared near the start of the Cambrian period. The phylum contains about 7,000 living species, making it the secondlargest grouping of deuterostomes, after the chordates; they are also the largest phylum that has no freshwater or terrestrial representatives.

Characteristics of Echinoderms
Possess 5-rayed symmetry, mostly radial, sometimes bilateral. Body has more than two cell layers, tissues and organs. Body cavity a true coelom. Most possesses a through gut with anus. Body shape highly variable, but with no head.

Nervous system includes a circum- oesophageal ring.

Has a poorly defined open circulatory system.

Possesses a water vascular system.

Without excretory organs. Feeds on fine particles in the water, detritus or other animals.

CHORDATA
The Phylum Chordata includes the well-known vertebrates (fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals). The vertebrates and hagfishes together comprise the taxon Craniata. The remaining chordates are the tunicates (Urochordata), lancelets (Cephalochordata), and possibly, some odd extinct groups. With few exceptions chordates are active animals with bilaterally symmetric bodies that are longitudinally differentiated into head, trunk and tail. The most distinctive morphological features of chordates are the notochord, nerve cord, and visceral clefts and arches.

Characteristics of Invertebrate Chordates

Bilaterally symmetrical.

Body has more than two cell layers, tissues and organs.
Body cavity a true coelom. Most possesses a through gut with a non-terminal anus. Body monomeric with no head or jaws. Possess at some stage of their life a hollow dorsal nerve tube. Has a partially open circulatory system.

Reproduction normally sexual and gonochoristic.

Feed on a variety of organic materials. All live marine environments.