Animal Classification,

Phylogeny, and
Organization

Biological Systematics

Diezza Khey B. Perez

Natural and Physical Sciences Department
College of Arts and Sciences
 Classification

A.We have identified about 1.4 million species

on earth; three-fourths of these species are
animals.
1. Each species is given a genus and
species name according to the taxonomic
system based on the work of Karl von
Linnè.
2. The binomial (genus and species names)
nomenclature is universal, and follows rules
from the International Code of Zoological
Nomenclature
 Classification

3. Closely related species are placed in the same

genus; closely related genera are placed in the
same family, and so on.
4.Taxon is a general term used to represent a
group of animals at any level of the
classification scheme.

B. To decide how closely related one taxon is to

another, biologists compare the characters or
traits present across groups.
 Classification
1.The traits used may be morphological-
physcial features (fur,no fur, brown eyes,
green eyes, scales); or

2. Molecular- DNA or genes that they have in

common
(exact genes they have in common, for
example Down Syndrome is caused by 2
copies of chromosome 21)
C. Classification of organisms into
higher level taxa has changed
recently.

1. A 5 kingdom scheme based on

cellular properties and mode of
nutrition was designed by Whittaker
in1969: Monera, Protista, Plantae,
Fungi, and Animalia. Bacteria were
placed in the kingdom Monera
 Changes

2. But new rRNA studies (rRNA

changes very slowly, so it offers
conserved characters for the phylogeny
of ancient groups) indicate that bacteria
is a polyphyletic group.

3. Bacteria now belong in two groups:

Archaea and Eubacteria. These two
groups replace the previous Kingdom
Monera.
4. Living things are commonly grouped
into a 3 domain, 6 kingdom system.

(This is new) Domains:

-- Archaea
-- Eubacteria
-- Eukarya
 Domains:
5 Kingdoms Archaea, Eubacteria,
Eukarya
6 Kingdoms
1. Monera
2. Protista 1. Plantae
3. Plantae 2. Animalia
4. Fungi 3. Protista
5. Animalia 4. Fungi
5. Archaebacteria
6. Eubacteria
 The New Taxonomy System

Domain-3 groups
Kingdom-6 groups

Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
D. Systematics is the arrangement of
organisms based on evolutionary
relationships indicated by shared
characters.

1. The groups formed in modern systematics

are designed to be monophyletic;
polyphyletic groups are avoided.

2. Monophyletic groups include all organisms

that have arisen from a single ancestral
3. Polyphyletic groups are artificial
groupings whose members have arisen
from separate ancestors.
E. There are 3 main schools of systematics that
differ in their goals and approaches:
1. Evolutionary systematics: traditional approach
which looks for similar characters and homologies
to group organisms into taxa.

2. Numerical taxonomy: a quantitative analysis of

characters to determine taxa and does not attempt to
distinguish between shared states due to common
ancestry and shared states due to convergence.
Examples?

3. Phylogenetic systematics (cladists) analyzes both

symplesiomorphies (shared ancestral characters) and
synapomorphies (shared derived characters) to
determine cladograms. Examples?
 Invertebrate or Vertebrate
What are Invertebrates?
-- a broad collection of animal groups (they do not belong to a
single subphylum like the vertebrates) all of which lack a
backbone. Some (not all) of the animal groups that are
invertebrates include:
-Sponges (Phylum Porifera)
-Jellyfish, hydras, sea anemones, corals (Phylum Cnidaria)
-Comb jellies (Phylum Ctenophora)
-Flatworms (Phylum Platyhelminthes)
-Molluscs (Phylum Mollusca)
-Arthropods (Phylum Arthropoda)
-Segmented worms (Phylum Annelida)
-Echinoderms (Phylum Echinodermata)
 Vertebrate
Characteristics:
• bilateral symmetry
• body segmentation
• endoskeleton (bony or cartilaginous) (they have a
backbone)
• pharyngeal pouches (present during some stage of
development)
• complete digestive system
• ventral heart
• closed blood system
• tail (at some stage of development)
The animal classes that are vertebrates include:

- Jawless fish (Class Agnatha)

- Armored fish (Class Placodermi) extinct
- Cartilaginous fish (Class Chondrichthyes)
- Bony fish (Class Osteichthyes)
Amphibians (Class Amphibia)
Reptiles (Class Reptilia)
Birds (Class Aves)
Mammals (Class Mammalia)
 Symmetry

1. The basic body plans of animals may

be analyzed to illustrate evolutionary
trends. The first consideration is body
symmetry:
• Animals may be asymmetrical, as in
many protists and sponges; such
animals lack complex sensory and
locomotory functions.
 3 Types of Symmetry

A. asymmetry
B. bilateral
symmetry
C. radial
symmetry
 Asymmetry
The arrangement of body parts without
a central axis or point.
--such animals lack complex sensory
and locomotory functions. WHY?

Examples?
Illustration of difference between
symmetrical and asymmetrical
 Tube Sponge
(Callyspongia vaginalis)

Tube Sponge is one of the most

common varieties of sea sponge
to be found on the reef. It is
distinguished by its long tube-
shaped growths, and ranges in
color from purple to blue, gray,
and gray-green. Filtered water is
ejected through the large
openings on the ends. This is
one of the few reef invertebrates
that is blue in color.
Sponges
 Bilateral Symmetry
The arrangement of body
parts such that a single
plane passing between
the upper and lower
surfaces and divides the
animal into a right and
left mirror image.
- most things fall into this
category
Hippos are herbivores Hippopotamus
--diet consists mainly of
grass and some water
plants.
-- do most of their
eating during the night,
while during the day
hippos spend most of
their time basking in the
sun on a sandbar or
floating lazily in the
water with just their
ears, eyes, and nostrils,
and perhaps their back
and top of the head,
exposed.
The Common Dog
 Radial Symmetry
The arrangement of body
parts such that any
plane passing through
the oral-aboral axis
divided the animal into
mirror images.
 Cnidarians -- radially
Cnidarian
symmetrical. This means that
their gastrovascular cavity,
tentacles, and mouth are
aligned such that if you were to
draw an imaginary line through
the center of their body, from
the top of their tentacles
through the base of their body,
you could then turn the animal
about that axis and it would
look roughly the same at each
angle in the turn. Another way
to look at this is that cnidarians
are cylindrical and have a top
and bottom but no left or
right side.
 Echinodermata (starfish)
Sea stars or starfish
-- Phylum Echinodermata,
class Asteroidea. T
-- closely related brittle stars,
which make up the class
Ophiuroidea
-- exhibit a superficially
radial symmetry, typically
with five or more "arms"
which radiate from an
indistinct disk (pentaradial
symmetry)
-- evolutionary ancestors are
believed to have had
bilateral symmetry, and sea
stars do have some remnant
of this body structure.
 Unicellular Level of Organization

1. The second consideration is the

level of cellular organization:

A. The single celled organisms, or

those formed from aggregates of
single cells, exhibit the cytoplasmic
level of organization; these cells
have very little interdependence
and do not form tissues.
 Unicellular Organism
Single-celled organism -- an organism
that consists of only one cell

-- Monads, specially the unicellular

flagellates
Main groups: bacteria, archaea, protozoa,
unicellular algae and unicellular fungi.
 Diploblastic Organization
These organisms have two tissue
layers formed from the embryonic
ectoderm and endoderm. The cell
layers are interdependent.

Non- cellular, gelatinous mesogloea is

present in between ectoderm and
endoderm.

Coelom is absent. Ex: Cnidarians,

Poriferas
 Diploblastic Organization
Gelatinous
Ectoderm
mesogloea

Cellular or Endoderm
not?
Role?
Diploblastic Organization
Diploblastic Organization
Diploblastic Organization
Diploblastic Organization
 Triploblastic Organization

These organisms have 3 tissue layers

derived from the embryonic ectoderm,
mesoderm, and endoderm.

Mesogloea is absent and mesoderm is

present.

Coelom is present, e.g. platyhelminthes,

annelids, arthropods, mollusks,
echinoderms and chordates
 Body Cavity
1.The third consideration is the presence of a body
cavity (not the gut cavity, but a cavity external to
the gut):

Body cavity functions:

-- provide more room for organ development
-- provide more surface area for diffusion
-- provide an area for storage
-- often act as hydrostatic skeletons
-- provide a vehicle for eliminating wastes and for
reproduction
-- facilitate increased body size
 Possibilities in the
Triploblastic Organization
1. Triploblastic Acoelomate Pattern
Description: thin ectoderm, thick mesoderm,
and thin endoderm, with small opening in
the middle called a gut. The mesoderm
touches the endoderm.
-- without coelom
Examples of flat worms, tapeworm
 Possibilities in the
Triploblastic Organization
2. Triploblastic Pseudocoelomate Pattern

Description: thin ectoderm, thin mesoderm,

thin endoderm, as an extra space between
the Mesoderm and the Endoderm called the
Pseudocoelom.

Examples: roundworm, filarial worm- causes

elephantiasis
Triploblastic Pseudocoelomate Pattern
 Possibilities in the
Triploblastic Organization

3. Triploblastic Coelomate Pattern

Description: Thin Ectoderm, thicker mesoderm
that has space to the left and the right. The
mesoderm butts up directly to the Endoderm.
In the center there is a small opening.

Example: Nemertea (ribbon worms)

Triploblastic Coelomate Pattern
Triploblastic Coelomate Pattern
 Higher Animal Taxonomy

1. Animalia are considered monophyletic

due to cellular organization.

2. “The Cambrian Explosion”- about 0.6

billion years ago an evolutionary
explosion occurred which resulted in the
origin of all modern phyla.
(phyla= many groups)
 Higher Animal Taxonomy

3. Three main groups or branches in the

animal kingdom.
A. Mesozoa (Phylum Mesozoa)
B. Parazoa (Phylum Porifera;
sponges)
C. Eumetazoa- (All other phyla)
- divided into groups based on
body symmetry.
C1. Radiata
C2. Bilateria
 Higher Animal Taxonomy

4. Scientists use Comparative embryology -

the observation that embryological events
may be similar because of shared ancestry.
 Bilateria
–A. Protostomia –(Platyhelminthes, Nematoda,
Mollusca, Annelida, Arthropoda)
»1. Trochophore larva
»Draw an example
–B. Deuterostomia-(Echinodermata,
hemichordata, chordata)
»1. Dipleurula larva
»Draw an example
 PROTOSTOMES DEUTEROSTOMES

- Spiral and determinate - Radial and

cleavage indeterminate cleavage

- Mouth forms from - Anus forms from

embryonic blastopore embryonic blastopore

- Enterocoelous coelom
- Trochophore larva
formation

- Dipleurula larva (mostly

in Echinoderms)
 Animal Systematics
Goal: arrange animals into groups that reflect
evolutionary relationships.

Terminologies:

Monophyletic Group: group that includes

single ancestral species and all of its
descendants.

Paraphyletic Group: includes some, but not

all members of lineage
 Animal Systematics

Terminologies:

Polyphyletic Group: have members that

can be traced to separate ancestors

Character: is virtually anything that has

genetic basis and can be measured
(anatomical to molecular level)
 Phylogenetic Systematics / Cladistics

Classification based on evolutionary history;

based on cladistic analysis

How do we reconstruct evolutionary

history to draw phylogenetic trees?

How do Systematists evaluate

information and apply it to tree
building?
 Phylogenetic Systematics / Cladistics

• Differentiate between homologies and

analogies

Cladograms: depict a sequence in the

origin of derived characters

• Taxa that share a certain synapomorphy

form a subset called a clade.
 Phylogenetic Systematics / Cladistics

• Homologies of recent origin are most

useful in phylogenetic studies

• Symplesiomorphies: characters that all

members of a group share (homologies),
may indicate a shared ancestry
 Phylogenetic Systematics / Cladistics

• To decide what character is ancestral for a

group of organisms, look for a related group
of organisms (outgroup), not included in the
study group

• Synapomorphies: derived characters;

Characters that have arisen since common
ancestry with the outgroup
Phylogenetic Systematics / Cladistics
 Phylogenetic Systematics / Cladistics
Rules:
• The different organisms are located across
the top of the tree diagram.
• The different traits (characters) are located
along the tree diagram.
• If two organisms are located next to each
other on the tree, it means that they are very
closely related.
• When a new trait appears, every organism
that evolved after that point should have the
trait.
1 2 3 4 5 6

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 Answer the following questions:

Which of the organisms are closely related?

Not closely related?

Identify the outgroup.

What traits on the diagram does organism 2

have?

What traits on the diagram does organism 6

have?
 Answer the following questions:

• Which of the organisms are more closely

related? Not closely related?
• Identify the outgroup.
• How many different traits appear on the tree
diagram?
• Which traits from the diagram does the lancelet
have?
• Which traits from the diagram does the tuna
have?
• Which traits from the diagram does the leopard
have?
 How to construct a tree diagram:
• Organisms that have the fewest traits branch
off first.
• Organisms that have the most traits branch off
last.
• If two organism have very similar traits or DNA,
they should be close together on the diagram.
• If two organisms have very different traits or
DNA, they should be farther apart on the
diagram.
• Traits that lots of organisms have evolved
early on.
• Traits that only a few organisms have evolved
later.
 Use
Use thethe following
following datadata table to construct
to construct a of
a cladogram
the major
cladogram plant
of the groups.
major plant groups.

Vascular
Organism Flowers Seeds
Tissue
Mosses 0 0 0
Pine Trees 1 0 1
Flowering Plants 1 1 1
Ferns 1 0 0
Total 3 1 2
Assignment
 Answer the following questions:

• Which of the organisms are more closely

related? Not closely related?
• Identify the outgroup.
• How many different traits appear on the tree
diagram?
• What traits on the diagram does the marmoset
have? What traits on the diagram does the
baboon have?
• What traits on the diagram does the lemur
have?
The following table shows the percentage similarity in
1. The following table shows the percentage similarity in sequences of nucleotides
sequences of nucleotides from a homologous gene
from a homologous gene derived from five different species of mammals
compared to that of a homologous human gene. In simpler terms, the
derived from five different species of mammals
percentage similarity between the human gene and the Chimpanzee gene is
99.7%

compared to that of a homologous human gene. In

simpler terms, the percentage similarity between the
human gene and the Chimpanzee gene is 99.7%

Percentage
Species
Similarity
Chimpanzee 99.7
Baboon 97.2
Rabbit 93.7
Rhesus Monkey 96.9
Orangutan 98.6
 Assignment

1. Draw a cladogram depicting the

evolutionary relationships among all six
species (including humans) according to
their percentage similarity in the gene
shown in the table.
 Answer the following questions:

2. What probably explains the inclusion of

rabbits in this research?
A. Their short generation time provides a
ready source of DNA.
B. They possess all of the shared derived
characters as do the other species.
C. They are the closest known relatives of
the rhesus monkeys.
D. They are the outgroup.
E. They are mammals.
 Answer the following questions:

2. What conclusions can be drawn from the data

shown?
A. Humans and other primates evolved from
rabbits within the past 10 million years.
B. Most of the genes of other organisms are similar
to human genes.
C. Among the species listed, humans shared a
common ancestor most recently with chimpanzees.
D. Humans evolved from chimpanzees somewhere
in Africa within the last 6 million years.
E. Both B and C are correct.