Animal Phylums

Biology

Animal Phylums

“Write a three sentence description for each phylum and list two examples for each. Also, draw a picture of a common example from each. (or cut out of a magazine). You will be graded on how accurate your information is as well as neatness.”

Sponges (Porifera): Poriferans don't have mouths; instead, they have tiny pores in their outer walls through which water is drawn. Cells in the sponge walls filter nutrients from the water as the water is carried through the body. The flow of water through the sponge is unidirectional, driven by beating of flagella.

Examples: Glass Sponges and Calcareous Sponges.

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Cnidarians: These are radially symmetrical. The mouth, located at the center of one end of the body, opens into a gastro vascular cavity, which is used for digestion and distribution of food. Cnidarians have a body wall composed of three layers: an outer epidermis, an inner gastro dermis, and a middle mesogloea.

Examples: Sea Anemones and Corals.

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Echinoderms: Most species reproduce sexually, and species have separate sexes. Fertilization is external; the gametes are simply shed into the water at spawning time. The floating embryo develops into a ciliated, free-swimming, bilaterally symmetrical larva, which undergoes metamorphosis into the radially symmetrical adult.

Examples: Sea Cucumber and Feather Star.

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Mollusks (Mollusca): The mollusk is a soft-bodied, usually shelled invertebrate belonging to one of the largest animal phyla with some 100,000 living species.

Examples: Snails and Clams.

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Fish: Fish were the earliest vertebrates and presumably evolved from a group of aquatic lower chordates. There are over 20,000 living species of fish. They range in size from 7-cm to 14-m.

Examples: Sharks and Lungfishes.

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Reptiles (Reptilia): Reptiles are cold-blooded; they lack an effective system for regulating their body temperature. They range in size from 5-cm to 9-m.

Examples: Lizards and Snakes.

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Mammals (Mammalia): This an animal of the highest class of vertebrates. The female has mammary glands, which secrete milk for the nourishment of the young after birth. In the majority of mammals the body is partially or wholly covered with hair. Mammals are warm-blooded; that is, they have a relatively constant body temperature independent of the temperature of their surroundings.

Examples: Humans and Monkeys.

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Segmented Worms (Annelida): These are soft-bodied, bilaterally symmetrical animals known as the segmented, or annelid, worms. Over 12,000 known species are grouped in three classes: the earthworms and freshwater worms, the leeches, and the marine worms. They live in protected habitats such as mud, sand, and rock crevices.

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