Kingdom Animalia Phylogenetic Tree of Kingdom Animalia

Click on link. The phyla of kingdom animalia are determined by evolutionary traits of an animal, and are grouped below the kingdom level. The largest phyla in kingdom animalia are phylums: Mollusca, Porifera, Cindaria, Platyhelminthes, Nematoda, Annelida, Arthropoda, Echinodermata, and Chordata, our own phylum. PHYLUM NEMATODA: Phylum nematoda consists of only roundworms, some that are parasitic. Roundworms and their parasitic freinds are psuedococelomates, which means they have a psuedocelum, a space between the internal digestive organs and the outer dermis of the worm. They have a complete, one-way digestive tract.

Phylum Nematoda

Roundworms (nematodes) are bilaterally symmetrical, worm-like organisms that are surrounded by a strong, flexible noncellular layer called a cuticle. Their body plan is simple. The cuticle is secreted by and covers a layer of epidermal cells. Near the body wall but under the epidermal cells are muscle cells; they run in the longitudinal direction only. A true coelom is lacking, instead, nematodes have a "pseudocoel" formed directly from the cavity of the blastula (rather than as a result of the division or folding of mesoderm). The cavity of the pseudocoel is small, being mostly filled with an intestine and oviducts or testes. A simple nervous system consists of a ring of nervous tissue around the pharynx that gives rise to dorsal and ventral nerve cords running the length of the body. Nematodes move by contraction of the longitudinal muscles. Because their internal pressure is high, this causes the body to flex rather than flatten, and the animal moves by thrashing back and forth. No cilia or flagellae are present. Some nematodes have specialized cells that excrete nitrogenous wastes; in others, canals or canals plus these specialized cells are present. Nematodes do not have flame cells. Most nematodes are dioecious. Fertilization takes place when males use special copulatory spines to open the females' reproductive tracts and inject sperm into them. The sperm are unique in that they lack flagellae and move by pseudopodia, like amoebas. Development of fertilized eggs is usually direct. Nematodes are almost unbelievably abundant. One study reported around 90,000 individual nematodes in a single rotting apple. Another reported 236 species living in a few cubic centimeters of mud. The number of described species is around 12,000, but too little attention has been paid to these animals and the true number may be closer to 500,000. Some species are generalists, occuring across wide areas and in many habitats; others are much more specialized. Nematodes have colonized nearly every conceivable habitat on earth, including such unlikely places as under beer coasters in Germany (Panagrellus redivivus). Some nematodes are also extreme habitat specialists, living, for example, only in the placentas of sperm whales (Placentonema gigantissima), or the right kidneys of minks (Dioctophyme renale) Many nematodes are free living and play critical ecological roles as decomposers and predators on microorganisms. But nematodes also include parasitic species, a number of which affect humans directly or indirectly through their domestic animals. These include the common

roundworms, which probably infest more than half the world's humans; hookworms; trichina, the worms that cause trichinosis; pinworms, another extremely common parasite, even in the United States, which can be transmitted from human to human by eggs floating in household dust; and filarial worms, primarily tropical parasites that cause diseases such as filariasis (elephantiasis) and onchocerciasis (river blindness).

Major Classes: Hookworms: Burrow into your skin, travel through your bloodstream to your lungs, then are coughed back up and swallowed into your digestive system. Hookworm

The hookworm is a parasitic nematode that lives in the small intestine of its host, which may be a mammal such as adog, cat, or human. Two species of hookworms commonly infect humans, Ancylostoma duodenale and Necator americanus. A. duodenale predominates in the Middle East, North Africa, India and (formerly) in southern Europe, whileN. americanus predominates in the Americas, Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, China, and Indonesia. Hookworms are thought to infect more than 600 million people worldwide. The A. braziliense and A. tubaeforme species infect cats, while A. caninum infects dogs. Uncinaria stenocephala infects both dogs and cats. Hookworms are much smaller than the larger roundworm Ascaris lumbricoides, and the complications of tissue migration and mechanical obstruction so frequently observed with roundworm infestation are less frequent in hookworm infestation. The most significant risk of hookworm infection is anemia, secondary to loss of iron (and protein) in the gut. The worms suck blood voraciously and damage the mucosa. However, the blood loss in the stools is not visibly apparent. Ancylostomiasis, also known by several other names, is the disease caused when A. duodenale hookworms, present in large numbers, produce an iron deficiency anemia by sucking blood from the host's intestinal walls. Hookworm is a leading cause of maternal and child morbidity in the developing countries of the tropics and subtropics. In susceptible children hookworms cause intellectual, cognitive and growth retardation, intrauterine growth retardation,prematurity, and low birth weight among newborns born to infected mothers. In developed countries, hookworm infection is rarely fatal, but anemia can be significant in a heavily infected individual.

Pinworms: Live in your lower intestine and lay their eggs in your rectum. Enterobius

The pinworm (in the United States of America) (genus Enterobius), also known as threadworm (in the United Kingdom) or seatworm, is a nematode (roundworm) and a common human intestinal parasite, especially in children.[5] The medical condition associated with pinworm infestation is known as enterobiasis,[6] or less precisely as oxyuriasis in reference to the family oxyuridae.[7]. Throughout this article the word pinworm refers to Enterobius. In British usage, however, pinworm refers toStrongyloides while Enterobius is called threadworm. Trichinella: Flu like worm. Trichinella

Trichinella is the genus of parasitic roundworms of the phylum Nematoda that cause trichinosis (also known as trichinellosis). Members of this genus are often called trichinella or trichina worms. A characteristic of nematoda are one-way digestive tract, and a pseudocoelom (body cavity made up of only an ectoderm and endoderm). The genus was first recognised in a larval form in 1835. The L1 larvae live in a modified skeletal muscle cell. The adult worms occupy a membrane-bound portion of columnar epithelium, living as intramulticellular parasite. Infections with this genus have reported from more than 150 different naturally or experimentally infected hosts. It has been shown to have a worldwide distribution in domestic and/or sylvatic animals. Trichinella is known as the smallest human nematode parasite. At the same time it is also the biggest of all intracellular parasites. PHYLUM CINDARIA: Consists of jellyfish, sea annennanennamies, and corals. They are all carnivores and use their tenticles to snatch their prey.

Cnidaria

Cnidaria (pronounced /na d ri / with a silent c) is a phylum containing over 9,000 species of animalsfound exclusively in aquatic and mostly marine environments. Their distinguishing feature is cnidocytes, specialized cells that they use mainly for capturing prey. Their bodies consist of mesoglea, a non-living jelly-like substance, sandwiched between two layers of epithelium that are mostly one cell thick. They have two basic body forms: swimming medusae and sessile polyps, both of which are radially symmetrical with mouths surrounded by tentacles that bear cnidocytes. Both forms have a single orifice and body cavity that are used for digestion and respiration. Many cnidarian species produce colonies that are single organisms composed of medusa-like or polyp-like zooids, or both. Cnidarians' activities are coordinated by a decentralized nerve net and simple receptors. Several freeswimming Cubozoa and Scyphozoa possess balance-sensing statocysts, and some have simple eyes. Not all cnidarians reproduce sexually. Many have complex lifecycles with asexual polyp stages and sexual medusae, but some omit either the polyp or the medusa stage. Cnidarians were for a long time grouped with Ctenophores in the phylum Coelenterata, but increasing awareness of their differences caused them to be placed in separate phyla. Cnidarians are classified into four main groups: sessile Anthozoa (sea anemones, corals, and sea pens (sea anemones are not sessile but only move 3-4 inches an hour); swimming Scyphozoa (jellyfish); Cubozoa (box jellies); and Hydrozoa, a diverse group that includes all the freshwater cnidarians as well as many marine forms, and has both sessile members such as Hydra and colonial swimmers such as the Portuguese Man o' War. Staurozoahave recently been recognised as a class in their own right rather than a subgroup of Scyphozoa, and there is debate about whether Myxozoa and Polypodiozoa are cnidarians or closer to bilaterians (more complex animals). Most cnidarians prey on organisms ranging in size from plankton to animals several times larger than themselves, but many obtain much of their nutrition from endosymbiotic algae, and a few are parasites. Many are preyed upon by other animals including starfish, sea slugs, fish and turtles. Coral reefs, whose polyps are rich in endosymbiotic algae, support some of the world's most productive ecosystems, and protect vegetation in tidal zones and on shorelines from strong currents and tides. While corals are almost entirely restricted to warm, shallow marine waters, other cnidarians live in the depths, in polar seas and in freshwater. Fossil cnidarians have been found in rocks formed about 580 million years ago, and other fossils show that corals may have been present shortly before 490 million years ago and diversified a few million years later. Fossils of cnidarians that do not build mineralized structures are very rare. Scientists currently think that cnidarians, ctenophores and bilaterians are more closely related to calcareous sponges than these are to other sponges, and that anthozoans are the evolutionary "aunts" or "sisters" of other cnidarians, and the most closely related to bilaterians. Recent analyses have concluded that cnidarians, although considered more "primitive" than bilaterians, have a wider range of genes.

Jellyfish stings killed several hundred people in the 20th century, and cubozoans are particularly dangerous. On the other hand, some large jellyfish are considered a delicacy in eastern and southern Asia. Coral reefs have long been economically important as providers of fishing grounds, protectors of shore buildings against currents and tides, and more recently as centers of tourism. However, they are vulnerable to over-fishing, mining for construction materials, pollution, and damage caused by tourism.

Major Classes: Hydrozoa (hydras) Hydrozoa

Hydrozoa (hydrozoans) are a taxonomic class of very small, predatory animals which can be solitary or colonial and which mostly live in saltwater. A few genera within this class live in freshwater. Hydrozoans are related to jellyfish and corals and belong to the phylum Cnidaria. Some examples of hydrozoans are the Freshwater Jelly (Craspedacusta sowerbyi), the freshwater polyps (Hydra), Obelia, thePortuguese Man o' War[dubious discuss] (Physalia physalis), the chondrophores (Porpitidae), "air fern" (Sertularia argenta) and the pink-hearted hydroids (Tubularia). Scyphozoa (Jelly fish) Scyphozoa

Scyphozoa is a class within the phylum Cnidaria, sometimes referred to as the "true jellyfish". The class name Scyphozoa comes from the Greek word skyphos ( ), denoting a kind of drinking cup and alluding to the cup shape of the organism. Scyphozoans range in geological time from the Ediacaran period through the Recent.

Antozoa (sea annenanenamies) Anthozoa

Anthozoa is a class within the phylum Cnidaria that contains the sea anemones and corals. Unlike other cnidarians, anthozoans do not have a medusa stage in their development. Instead, they release sperm and eggs that form a planula, which attaches to some substrate on which the cnidarian grows. Some anthozoans can also reproduce asexually through budding.

PHYLUM PORIFERA: Is a phylum of only sponges, 5000 total. They have no tissues and are believed to have evolved into the first multicellular organsims. Sponges absorb food by filtering the surrounding water it and extracting any form of microscopic food they can get. Sponge

Sponges are animals of the phylum Porifera (meaning "pore bearer"; pronounced /p r f r /). Their bodies consist of jelly-like mesohyl sandwiched between two thin layers of cells. While all animals have unspecialized cells that can transform into specialized cells, sponges are unique in having some specialized cells that can transform into other types, often migrating between the main cell layers and the mesohyl in the process. Sponges do not havenervous, digestive or circulatory systems. Instead, most rely on maintaining a constant water flow through their bodies to obtain food and oxygen and to remove wastes, and the shapes of their bodies are adapted to maximize the efficiency of the water flow. All are sessile aquatic animals and, although there are freshwater species, the great majority are marine (salt water) species, ranging from tidal zones to depths exceeding 8,800 metres (5.5 mi). While most of the approximately 5,00010,000 known species feed on bacteria and other food particles in the water, some host photosynthesizing micro-organisms as endosymbionts and these alliances often produce more food and oxygen than they consume. A few species of sponge that live in food-poor environments have become carnivoresthat prey mainly on small crustaceans.[1] Most species use sexual reproduction, releasing sperm cells into the water to fertilize ova that in some species are released and in others are retained by the "mother". The fertilized eggs form larvae which swim off in search of places to settle. Sponges are known for regenerating from fragments that are broken off, although this only works if the fragments include the right

types of cells. A few species reproduce by budding. When conditions deteriorate, for example as temperatures drop, many freshwater species and a few marine ones produce gemmules, "survival pods" of unspecialized cells that remain dormant until conditions improve and then either form completely new sponges or re-colonize the skeletons of their parents. The mesohyl functions as an endoskeleton in most sponges, and is the only skeleton in soft sponges that encrust hard surfaces such as rocks. More commonly the mesohyl is stiffened by mineral spicules, by spongin fibers or both. Demosponges use spongin, and in many species silica spicules and in some species calcium carbonateexoskeletons. Demosponges constitute about 90% of all known sponge species, including all freshwater ones, and have the widest range of habitats. Calcareous sponges, which have calcium carbonate spicules and in some species calcium carbonate exoskeletons, are restricted to relatively shallow marine waters where production of calcium carbonate is easiest. The fragile glass sponges, with "scaffolding" of silica spicules, are restricted to polar regions and the ocean depths where predators are rare. Fossils of all of these types have been found in rocks dated from 580 million years ago. In addition Archaeocyathids, whose fossils are common in rocks from 530 to 490 million years ago, are now regarded as a type of sponge. It is generally thought that the sponge's closest single-celled relatives are choanoflagellates, which strongly resemble the cells that sponges use to drive their water flow systems and capture most of their food. It is also generally agreed that sponges do not form a monophyletic group, in other words do not include all and onlythe descendants of a common ancestor, because it is thought that Eumetazoa (more complex animals) are descendants of a sub-group of sponges. However it is uncertain which group of sponges is closest to Eumetazoa, as both calcareous sponges and a sub-group of demosponges called Homoscleromorpha have been nominated by different researchers. In addition a study in 2008 suggested that the earliest animals may have been similar to modern comb jellies. The few species of demosponge that have entirely soft fibrous skeletons with no hard elements have been used by humans over thousands of years for several purposes, including as padding and as cleaning tools. However by the 1950s these had been over-fished so heavily that the industry almost collapsed, and most sponge-like materials are now synthetic. Sponges and their microscopic endosymbionts are now being researched as possible sources of medicines for treating a wide range of diseases. Dolphins have been observed using sponges as tools while foraging. PHYLUM MOLLUSCA: The over 150,000 species in kingdom mollusca have a complete deigestive system and get their food by digestion. The outer shell, made of calcuim carbonate, houses the mantle, which helps with respiration and sensory of the outside environment. Muscular feet under their shell help them with locomotion. Their body is bilateral, and they are also pseudocoelomates. They have a complete digestive system with a small mouth, usually used for scraping the ocean floor for food.

Mollusca

The Mollusca, common name molluscs or mollusks, is a large phylum of invertebrate animals. There are around 85,000 recognized extant species of molluscs. This is the largest marine phylum, comprising about 23% of all the named marine organisms. Numerous molluscs also live in freshwater and terrestrial habitats. Molluscs are highly diverse, not only in size and in anatomical structure, but also in behaviour and in habitat. The phylum Mollusca is typically divided into nine or ten taxonomic classes, of which two are extinct. The gastropods(snails and slugs) include by far the most classified species, accounting for 80% of the total. Cephalopod molluscs such as squid, cuttlefish and octopus are among the most neurologically advanced invertebrates. Either the giant squid or thecolossal squid is the largest known species of animal without a backbone. The two most universal features of the body structure of molluscs are a mantle with a significant cavity used for breathingand excretion, and the organization of the nervous system. Because of the great range of anatomical diversity, many textbooks base their descriptions on a hypothetical "generalized mollusc", with features common to many but not all classes within the Mollusca. There is good evidence for the appearance of gastropods, cephalopods and bivalves in the Cambrian period542 to 488.3 million years ago. However, the evolutionary history both of the emergence of molluscs from the ancestral group Lophotrochozoa, and of their diversification into the well-known living and fossil forms, is still vigorously debated. The most abundant metallic element in molluscs is calcium. Molluscs have for many centuries been the source of important luxury goods, notably pearls, mother of pearl, Tyrian purple dye, and sea silk. Their shells have also been used as money in some pre-industrial societies. There is a risk of food poisoning from toxins that accumulate in molluscs under certain conditions, and many countries have regulations that aim to minimize this risk. Blue-ringed octopus bites are often fatal, and the bite of Octopus rubescens can cause necrosis that lasts longer than one month if untreated, and headaches and weakness persisting for up to a week even if treated. Stings from a few species of large tropical cone shells can also kill. However, the sophisticated venoms of these cone snails have become important tools in neurological research and show promise as sources of new medications. Schistosomiasis (also known as bilharzia, bilharziosis or snail fever) is transmitted to humans via water snail hosts, and affects about 200 million people. A few species of snails and slugs are serious agricultural pests, and in addition, accidental or deliberate introduction of various snail species into new territory has resulted in serious damage to some natural ecosystems.

Major Classes: Class Bivalvia (oysters, clams, muscles) Bivalvia

Bivalvia is a class of marine and freshwater mollusks known for some time as Pelecypoda, but now commonly referred to simply as bivalves. As with Gastropoda and Cephalopoda, the term Pelecypoda is in reference to the animal itself while Bivalvia simply describes the shell. Other names for the class include Acephala, Bivalva, and Lamellibranchia. The class contains some 30,000 species, including scallops, clams, oysters and mussels. Bivalves have a shell consisting of two asymmetrically rounded halves called valves that are mirror images of each other, joined at one edge by a flexible ligament called the hinge. The shell is typically bilaterally symmetrical, with the hinge lying in the sagittal plane. Bivalves are unique among the molluscs, having lost their odontophore and radula in their transition to filter feeding. Some bivalves are epifaunal; they attach to surfaces. Others are infaunal; they bury themselves in sediment. These forms typically have a strong digging foot. Some bivalves such as scallops can swim. The term bivalve is derived from the Latin bis, meaning 'two', and valvae, meaning leaves of a door Other bivalved animals include brachiopods, ostracodes, and conchostrachans. Calss Gastropoda (snails and slugs) Gastropoda

The Gastropoda or gastropods are a large taxonomic class within the molluscs, a group of animals that are more commonly known as snails and slugs. The class includes snails and slugs of all kinds and all sizes: huge numbers ofmarine snails and sea slugs, as well as freshwater snails and freshwater limpets, and the terrestrial (land) snails and slugs. The class Gastropoda contains a vast total of named species, second only to the insects in overall number. The fossil history of this class goes all the way back to the Late Cambrian. There are

611 families of gastropods, of which 202 families are extinct, being found only in the fossil record. Gastropoda (previously known as univalves and sometimes spelled Gasteropoda) are a major part of the phylumMollusca and are the most highly diversified class in the phylum, with 60,000 to 80,000 living snail and slug species. The anatomy, behavior, feeding and reproductive adaptations of gastropods vary very significantly from one clade or group to another. Therefore, it is difficult or impossible to make more than a few general statements that are valid for all gastropods. The class Gastropoda has an extraordinary diversification of habitats. Representatives live in gardens, in woodland, in deserts, and on mountains; in small ditches, great rivers and lakes; in estuaries, mudflats, the rocky intertidal, the sandy subtidal, in the abyssal depths of the oceans including the hydrothermal vents, and numerous other ecological niches, including parasitic ones. Although the name "snail" can be, and often is, applied to all the members of this class, commonly this word means only those species with an external shell large enough that the soft parts can withdraw completely into it. Those gastropods without a shell, and those with only a very reduced or internal shell, are usually known as slugs. The marine shelled species of gastropod include edible species such as abalone, conches, periwinkles, whelks, and numerous other sea snails that produce seashells which are coiled in the adult stage, even though in some cases the coiling may not be very visible, for example in cowries. There are also a number of families of species such as all the various limpets, where the shell is coiled only in the larval stage, and is a simple conical structure after that.

PHYLUM ANNELIDA: -Over 15,000 species of segmented worms. -Bilateral semetry -Internal nervous and digestive systems. -eucelomate Annelid

The annelids (also called "ringed worms"), formally called Annelida (from French annels "ringed ones", ultimately fromLatin anellus "little ring"[2]), are a large phylum of segmented worms, with over 17,000 modern species includingragworms, earthworms and leeches. They are found in marine environments from tidal zones to hydrothermal vents, in freshwater, and in moist terrestrial environments. Although most textbooks still use the traditional division intopolychaetes (almost all marine), oligochaetes (which include earthworms) and leech-like species, research since 1997 has radically changed this scheme, viewing leeches as a sub-group of oligochaetes and

oligochaetes as a sub-group of polychaetes. In addition, the Pogonophora, Echiura and Sipuncula, previously regarded as separate phyla, are now regarded as sub-groups of polychaetes. Annelids are considered members of the Lophotrochozoa, a "super-phylum" ofprotostomes that also includes molluscs, brachiopods, flatworms and nemerteans. The basic annelid form consists of multiple segments, each of which has the same sets of organs and, in most polychaetes, a pair of parapodia that many species use for locomotion. Septa separate the segments of many species, but are poorly-defined or absent in some, and Echiura and Sipuncula show no obvious signs of segmentation. In species with welldeveloped septa, the blood circulates entirely within blood vessels, and the vessels in segments near the front ends of these species are often built up with muscles to act as hearts. The septa of these species also enable them to change the shapes of individual segments, which facilitates movement by peristalsis ("ripples" that pass along the body) or by undulations that improve the effectiveness of the parapodia. In species with incomplete septa or none, the blood circulates through the main body cavity without any kind of pump, and there is a wide range of locomotory techniques some burrowing species turn their pharynges inside out to drag themselves through the sediment. Although many species can reproduce asexually and use similar mechanisms to regenerate after severe injuries, sexual reproduction is the normal method in species whose reproduction has been studied. The minority of living polychaetes whose reproduction and lifecycles are known produce trochophore larvae, which live as plankton and then sink andmetamorphose into miniature adults. Oligochaetes are full hermaphrodites and produce a ring-like cocoon round their bodies, in which the eggs and hatchlings are nourished until they are ready to emerge. Earthworms support terrestrial food chains both as prey and by aerating and enriching soil. The burrowing of marine polychaetes, which may constitute up to a third of all species in near-shore environments, encourages the development of ecosystems by enabling water and oxygen to penetrate the sea floor. In addition to improving soil fertility, annelids serve humans as food and as bait. Scientists observe annelids to monitor the quality of marine and fresh water. Althoughblood-letting is no longer in favor with doctors, some leech species are regarded as endangered species because they have been over-harvested for this purpose in the last few centuries. Ragworms' jaws are now being studied by engineers as they offer an exceptional combination of lightness and strength. Since annelids are soft-bodied, their fossils are rare mostly jaws and the mineralized tubes that some of the species secreted. Although some late Ediacaranfossils may represent annelids, the oldest known fossil that is identified with confidence comes from about 518 million years ago in the early Cambrian period. Fossils of most modern mobile polychaete groups appeared by the end of the Carboniferous, about 299 million years ago. Scientists disagree about whether somebody fossils from the mid Ordovician, about 472 to 461 million years ago, are the remains of oligochaetes, and the earliest certain fossils of the group appear in theTertiary period, which began 65 million years ago.

Major Classes: Polychaeta (Bristleworms) Polychaete

The Polychaeta or polychaetes are a class of annelid worms, generally marine. Each body segment has a pair of fleshy protrusions called parapodia that bear many bristles, called chaetae, which are made of chitin. Indeed, polychaetes are sometimes referred to as bristle worms. More than 10,000 species are described in this class. Common representatives include the lugworm (Arenicola marina) and the sandworm or clam worm Nereis. Polychaetes as a class are robust and widespread, with species that live in the coldest ocean temperatures of theabyssal plain, to forms which tolerate the extreme high temperatures near hydrothermal vents. Polychaetes occur throughout the Earth's oceans at all depths, from forms that live as plankton near the surface, to a 23 cm specimen (still unclassified) observed by the robot ocean probe Nereus at the bottom of the Challenger Deep, the deepest spot in the Earth's oceans. Hirudinea (Leaches) Leech

Leeches are annelids comprising the subclass Hirudinea. There are freshwater, terrestrial, and marine leeches. Like the Oligochaeta, they share the presence of a clitellum. Like earthworms, leeches are hermaphrodites. Some, but not all, leeches are hematophagous. The European medical leech, Hirudo medicinalis, and some congeners, as well as some other species, have been used for clinical bloodletting for thousands of years, although most leeches do not feed on human blood, but instead prey on small invertebrates, which they eat whole. Haemophagic leeches attach to their hosts and remain there until they become full, at which point they fall off to digest. A leech's body is composed of 34 segments. They all have an anterior (oral) sucker formed from the first six segments of their body, which is used to connect to a host for feeding, and also release an anesthetic to prevent the host from feeling the leech. They use a combination of mucus and suction (caused by concentric muscles in those six

segments) to stay attached and secrete an anti-clotting enzyme, hirudin, into the host's blood stream. Some species of leech will nurture their young, while providing food, transport, and protection, which is unusual behavior amongst annelids. Oligochaeta (Earthworms) Oligochaeta

Oligochaeta (singular Oligochaete, pronounced / l ki t/) is a subclass of animals in the biological phylumAnnelida, which is made up of many types of aquatic and terrestrial worms, and this includes all of the variousearthworms. Specifically, it contains the terrestrial megadrile earthworms (some of which are semi- or fully aquatic), and freshwater or semi-terrestrial microdrile forms including the tubificids, pot worms and ice worms(Enchytraeidae), blackworms (Lumbriculidae) and several interstitial marine worms. With around 10,000 known species the Oligochaeta make up about one half of the phylum Annelida. These worms usually have few setae (chaetae) or "bristles" on the outer body surface, and lack parapodia, unlikepolychaeta. PHYLUM ECHINODERMATA: -Most closly related to phylum chordata (us humans') -over 6,000 species of mostly marine animals -endoskeleton -radial semetry Echinoderm

Echinoderms (Phylum Echinodermata) 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 second-largest grouping of deuterostomes, after thechordates. Echinoderms are also the largest phylum that has no freshwater or terrestrial representatives. The word is derived from the Greek (echinodermata), plural of (echinoderma), "spiny skin" from (echinos), "sea-urchin", originally "hedgehog,"[1] and (derma), "skin".[2][3] The echinoderms are important both biologically and geologically: biologically because few other groupings are so abundant in the biotic desert of the deep sea, as well as the shallower oceans, and geologically as their ossified skeletons are major contributors to many limestone formations, and can provide valuable clues as to the geological environment. Further, it is held by some that the radiation of echinoderms was responsible for the Mesozoic revolution of marine life. Major Classes: Brittle Stars (detachable arms as means of defense) Brittle star

Brittle stars, or ophiuroids, are echinoderms, closely related to starfish. They crawl across the seafloor using their flexible arms for locomotion. The ophiuroids generally have five long slender, whip-like arms which may reach up to 60 centimetres (24 in) in length on the largest specimens. They are also known as serpent stars. Ophiuroidea contains two large clades, Ophiurida (brittle stars) and Euryalida (basket stars). Many of the ophiuroids are rarely encountered in the relatively shallow depths normally visited by humans, but they are a diverse group. There are some 1,500 species of brittle stars living today, and they are largely found in deep waters more than 500 metres (1,650 feet) down.

Sand Dollars Sand dollar

Sand dollar, or Sand-dollar is a name used for many species of extremely flattened, burrowing sea urchins belonging to the order Clypeasteroida. Other species within the order are not quite as flat, and are sometimes called "sea cookies" or "sea biscuits". All members of Clypeasteroida have a rigid skeleton known as a test. This is the typical remains found washed up on beaches. The living animals have a skin of motile spines covering the test. Movement is accomplished by the coordinated action of the spines. Like other sea urchins, sand dollars have five paired rows of pores. The pores are arranged in a petal-like pattern. These pores are perforations in the endoskeleton through which the podia, used in gas exchange, project from the body. Echinarachnius parma, also known as the Common Sand Dollar, is widespread in ocean waters of the Northern Hemisphere, from the intertidal zone to considerable depths. It can be found in temperate and tropical zones. Sea Lillies Crinoid

Crinoids, also known as sea lilies or feather-stars, are marine animals that make up the class Crinoidea of theechinoderms (phylum Echinodermata). Crinoidea comes from the Greek word krinon, "a lily", and eidos, "form". [1] They live both in shallow water and in depths as great as 6,000 meters. Crinoids are characterized by a mouth on the top surface that is surrounded by feeding arms. They have a U-shaped gut, and their anus is located next to the mouth. Although the basic echinoderm pattern of fivefold symmetry can be recognized, most crinoids have many more than five arms. Crinoids usually have a stem used to attach themselves to asubstrate, but many live attached only as juveniles and become free-swimming as adults.

There are only a few hundred known modern forms, but crinoids were much more numerous both in species and numbers in the past. Some thick limestone beds dating to the mid- to latePaleozoic are almost entirely made up of disarticulated crinoid fragments. Sea Cucumbers (bilateral) Sea cucumber

Sea cucumbers are echinoderms from the class Holothuroidea. They are marine animals with a leathery skin and an elongated body containing a single, branched gonad. Sea cucumbers are found on the sea floor worldwide. There are a number of holothurian species and genera, many of which are targeted for human consumption. The harvested product is variously referred to as trepang, bche-de-mer or balate. Like all echinoderms, sea cucumbers have an endoskeleton just below the skin, calcified structures that are usually reduced to isolated microscopic ossicles (or sclerietes) joined by connective tissue. In some species these can sometimes be enlarged to flattened plates, forming an armour. In pelagic species such as Pelagothuria natatrix(Order Elasipodida, family Pelagothuriidae), the skeleton and a calcareous ring are absent. Sea Urchins Sea urchin

Sea urchins or urchins are small, spiny, globular animals which, with their close kin, such as sand dollars, constitute the class Echinoidea of the echinoderm phylum. They inhabit all oceans. Their shell, or "test", is round and spiny, typically from 3 to 10 centimetres (1.2 to 3.9 in) across. Common colors include black and dull shades of green, olive, brown, purple, and red. They move slowly, feeding mostly on algae. Sea otters, wolf eels, triggerfish, and other predators feed on them. Humans harvest them and serve their roe as a delicacy. The name urchin is an old name for the round spiny hedgehogs that sea urchins resemble.

Sea Stars Starfish

Starfish or sea stars are echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea.[2] The names "starfish" and "sea star" essentially refer to members of the Class Asteroidea. However, common usage frequently finds "starfish" and "sea star" also applied to ophiuroids which are correctly referred to as "brittle stars" or "basket stars". There are 2,000 living species of starfish that occur in all the world's oceans, including the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian as well as in the Arctic and the Southern Ocean (i.e., Antarctic) regions. Starfish occur across a broad depth range from the intertidal to abyssal depths (>6000 m). Starfish are among the most familiar of marine animals and possess a number of widely known traits, such as regeneration and feeding on mussels. Starfish possess a wide diversity of body forms and feeding methods. The extent that Asteroidea can regenerate varies with individual species. Broadly speaking, starfish are opportunistic feeders, with several species having specialized feeding behavior, including suspension feeding and specialized predation on specific prey. The Asteroidea occupy several important roles throughout ecology and biology. Sea stars, such as the Ochre sea star(Pisaster ochraceus) have become widely known as the example of the keystone species concept in ecology. The tropical Crown of Thorns starfish (Acanthaster planci) are voracious predators of coral throughout the Indo-Pacific region. Other starfish, such as members of the Asterinidae are frequently used in developmental biology.

PHYLUM CHORDATA: -This is our phylum -characterized by vertebrates ( spine, dorsal hollow nerve cord) Subphylums: -Urochordata -Cephalochordata -notochords

Chordate

Chordates (phylum Chordata) are animals which are either vertebrates or one of several closely related invertebrates. They are united by having, for at least some period of their life cycle, a notochord, a hollow dorsal nerve cord, pharyngeal slits, an endostyle, and a post-anal tail. The phylum Chordata consists of three subphyla: Urochordata, represented bytunicates; Cephalochordata, represented by lancelets; and Craniata, which includes Vertebrata. The Hemichordata have been presented as a fourth chordate subphylum, but they are now usually treated as a separate phylum. Urochordate larvae have both a notochord and a nerve cord which are lost in adulthood. Cephalochordates have a notochord and a nerve cord (but no brain or specialist sensory organs) and a very simple circulatory system. Craniates are the only sub-phylum whose members have skulls. In all craniates except for hagfish, the dorsal hollow nerve cord is surrounded withcartilaginous or bony vertebrae and the notochord is generally reduced; hence, hagfish are not regarded as vertebrates. The chordates and three sister phyla, the Hemichordata, the Echinodermata and the Xenoturbellida, make up thedeuterostomes, one of the two superphyla that encompass all fairly complex animals. Attempts to work out the evolutionary relationships of the chordates have produced several hypotheses, but the current consensus is that chordates are monophyletic, meaning that Chordata contains all and only the descendants of a single common ancestor which is itself a chordate, and that craniates' nearest relatives are cephalochordates. All of the earliest chordate fossils have been found in the Early Cambrian Chengjiang fauna, and include two species that are regarded asfish, which implies that they are vertebrates. Because the fossil record of chordates is poor, only molecular phylogeneticsoffers a reasonable prospect of dating their emergence. However, the use of molecular phylogenetics for dating evolutionary transitions is controversial. It has also proved difficult to produce a detailed classification within the living chordates. Attempts to produce evolutionary "family trees" give results that differ from traditional classes because several of those classes are not monophyletic. As a result vertebrate classification is in a state of flux.

Major Subphylums: Cephalochordata (Have heads, small organs that filter feed) Cephalochordata

Cephalochordata is a chordate subphylum defined by the presence of a notochord that persists throughout life. It is represented in the modern oceans by the lancelets. In greek terms this meant "both ends pointed". This species is very small and have no hard parts, this makes finding fossils very hard. Fossil species have been found in very old rocks predating vertebrates. There is famous shale called Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale of British Columbia, which has yielded pikaiafossils. Recently there was a different cephalochordate fossil found in south China. It dates to the early Cambrian period and is the earliest known fossil of the cephalochordate lineage (Chen et al., 1995). They have numerous gillslits. Their sexes are different. An example is the amphioxus. Urochordata (Marine squids, 2 stages of development; polyp and adult) Tunicate

Tunicates, also known as urochordates, are members of the subphylum Tunicata or Urochordata, a group of underwater saclike filter feeders with incurrent and excurrent siphons that is classified within the phylum Chordata. While most tunicates live on the ocean floor, others such as salps, doliolids and pyrosomes live above in thepelagic zone as adults. They were historically known as Ascadia, and are now commonly known as sea squirtsand sea pork.[1] Most tunicates feed by filtering sea water through pharyngeal slits, but some are submarine predators such as theMegalodicopia hians. Like other chordates, tunicates have a notochord during their early development but lackmyomeric segmentation throughout the body and tail as adults. Tunicates lack the kidney-like metanephridialorgans, and the original coelom body-cavity develops into a pericardial cavity and gonads. Except for the pharynx,heart and gonads, the organs are enclosed in a membrane called an epicardium, which is surrounded by the jelly-like mesenchyme. Tunicates begin life in a mobile larval stage that resembles a tadpole, later developing into a barrel-like and usually sedentary adult form.

Tunicates apparently evolved in the early Cambrian period, beginning c 540 million years ago. Despite their simple appearance, tunicates are closely related to vertebrates, which include fish and all land animals with bones.

Vetrebrata: -Notochord in the form of backbone -complex nerve and excretion system -closed circulatory system with two chamber heart -breath through gills -coelomate -bilateral Vertebrate

Vertebrates ( / v t br ts/) are members of the subphylum Vertebrata, chordates with backbones and spinal columns. About 58,000 species of vertebrates have been currently described.[2] Vertebrata is the largest subphylum of chordates, and contains many familiar groups of large land animals. Vertebrates are the animals from the groups ofjawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds. Extant vertebrates range in size from the carp species Paedocypris, at as little as 7.9 mm (0.3 inch), to the Blue Whale, at up to 33 m (110 ft). Vertebrates make up about 5% of all described animal species; the rest are invertebrates, which lack backbones. The vertebrates traditionally include the hagfish, which do not have proper vertebrae, though their closest living relatives, the lampreys, do have vertebrae.[3] For this reason, the vertebrate subphylum is sometimes referred to as "Craniata", as all members do possess a cranium.

Major Classes: Class Agnatha (Jawless fish, cartalige, soft skin, no paired fins, gill slits, ectothermic)

Agnatha

Agnatha (Greek, "no jaws") is a superclass of jawless fish in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata. The group excludes all vertebrates with jaws, known as gnathostomes. The agnathans as a whole are paraphyletic,[3] because most extinct agnathans belong to the stem group of gnathostomes.[4][5] Recent molecular data, both from rRNA[6] and from mtDNA strongly supports the theory that living agnathans, known as cyclostomes, are monophyletic. The oldest fossil agnathans appeared in the Cambrian, and two groups still survive today: the lampreys and the hagfish, with about 100 species in total. Hagfish are not members of the subphylum Vertebrata, as hagfish do not have vertebrae; they are rather classified in the more inclusive group Craniata. In addition to the absence of jaws, modern agnathans are characterised by absence of paired fins; the presence of a notochord both in larvae and adults; and seven or more pairedgill pouches. There is a light sensitive pineal eye (homologous to the pineal gland in mammals). All living and most extinct Agnatha do not have an identifiable stomach or any appendages. Fertilization and development are both external. There is no parental care in the Agnatha class. The Agnatha are ectothermic or cold blooded, with a cartilaginousskeleton, and the heart contains 2 chambers. While a few scientists still regard the living agnaths as only superficially similar, and argue that many of these similarities are probably shared basal characteristics of ancient vertebrates, recent classifications clearly place hagfish (the Myxini or Hyperotreti), with the lampreys (Hyperoartii) as being more closely related to each other than either is to the jawed fishes. Class Amphibia (Tetropods, thin, moist skin, use external fertalization, ecothermic, 3 chambered heart, have a brain, eyes, tympanum) Amphibian

Amphibians (class Amphibia, from Amphi- meaning "on both sides" and -bios meaning "life"), such as frogs,salamanders, and caecilians, are ectothermic (or cold-blooded) animals that metamorphose from a juvenile water-breathing form, either to an adult air-breathing form, or to a paedomorph that retains some juvenile characteristics.Mudpuppies, for example, retain juvenile gills in adulthood. The three modern orders of amphibians are Anura (frogs andtoads), Caudata (salamanders and newts), and Gymnophiona (caecilians, limbless amphibians that resemble snakes), and in total they number approximately 6,500 species.[1] Many amphibians lay their eggs in water. Amphibians are superficially similar to reptiles, but reptiles are amniotes, along with mammals and birds. The study of amphibians is called batrachology.

Amphibians are ecological indicators,[2] and in recent decades there has been a dramatic decline in amphibian populations around the globe. Many species are now threatened or extinct. Amphibians evolved in the Devonian Period and were top predators in the Carboniferous and Permian Periods, but many lineages were wiped out during the Permian Triassic extinction. One group, the metoposaurs, remained important predators during the Triassic, but as the world became drier during the Early Jurassic they died out, leaving a handful of relict temnospondyls like Koolasuchus and the modern orders of Lissamphibia. Class Osteichthyes (Bony fish, lobe and ray fined, modified lungs, swim bladder) Osteichthyes

Osteichthyes (pronounced / sti k i.i z/), also called bony fish, are a taxonomic group of fish endotherms, that have bony, as opposed to cartilaginous, skeletons. The vast majority of fish are osteichthyes, which is an extremely diverse and abundant group consisting of over 29,000 species. It is the largest class of vertebrates in existence today. Osteichthyes is divided into the ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii) and lobe-finned fish (Sarcopterygii). In most classification systems the Osteichthyes are paraphyletic with land vertebrates. That means that the nearest common ancestor of all Osteichthyes includes tetrapods amongst its descendants. Actinopterygii (ray-finned fish) are monophyletic, but the inclusion of Sarcopterygii in Osteichthyes causes Osteichthyes to be paraphyletic. Paradoxically,Sarcopterygii is considered monophyletic, as it includes tetrapods. Most bony fish belong to the ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii); there are only eight living species of lobe-finned fish (Sarcopterygii), including the lungfish and coelacanths. Traditionally, the bony fish had been treated as a class within the vertebrates, with Actinopterygii and Sarcopterygii as subclasses. However, some recent works have elevated Osteichthyes to superclass, with Actinopterygii and Sarcopterygii as classes. Class Chondrichthyes ( Cartalige skeleton, jawed, paired fins, no swim bladder, ecothermic, internal fertilization to reproduce) Class Reptilia (Live on land, have dry thick skin, internal skeleton, internal fertilization, well developed kidneys that excrete uric acid to conserve water, some with 4 chambered heart, ecothermic, breath through lungs only) Class Aves (Feathers made of karitin for insulation, bones are honeycombed, four chambered heart, excrete uric acid, exceptional vision, enlarged sternum. Class Mammalia (Hair made of keratin and protein, mammory glands, have teeth, have well developed diaphram, breath through lungs only, well developed hormonal system)