Vertebrates and Invertebrates
By: Katelyn Mai
Invertebrate
Main Characteristics:
- Invertebrates have no backbone (on the right)
- Cold-blooded
- Multicellular
Specialized Cells/Tissues That Allow Them to Function:
- Ectoderm- Outer layer that develops skin, the brain, and nervous system.
- Endoderm- Inner layer that lines the animal’s gut.
- Mesoderm- Middle layer that develops internal tissue and organs.
- Vascular Tissue - It transports proteins and water throughout the organism.
Three Main Types of Symmetry:
- Bilateral: Can be divided equally along only one plane, which splits an animal into mirror-image sides. Exaxmples: Butterflies and Bugs
- Racial: They have body parts arranged in a circle around a central axis. Examples: Coral and Jellyfish
- Asymmetrical: They are not symmetrical. Sponges are sessile. Example: Phylum Porifera, sponges
Fifteen Phyla:
Mollusca
They feed on a wide range of material and live in most environments. They are bilaterally symmetrical and have a pair of kidneys.
- Examples: Slugs, Snails, Squid
Arthropoda
They live everywhere and feed on anything. Their body is divided in 2 or 3 sections and possess an external skeleton.
- Examples: Insects, Crabs, Spiders
Chordata
They are bilaterally symetrical, has a partially open circulatory system, and feeds on organic matter.
- Examples: Tunicates, Mammals, Birds
Echinodermata
They are mostly radial and sometimes bilateral. It has a poorly defined open circulatory system and possesses a water vascular system.
- Examples: Starfish, Sea Urchin
Tardigrada
- Example: Water Bears, Moss PIglet
Annelida
It has 3 separate sections, a prosomium, a trunk, and a pygidium. There are no respiratory organs but there is a circulatory system.
- Examples: Earthworms, Ragworms
Nematoda
The body is covered in a complex cuticle. It reproduces sexually and gonochoristically. They live almost everywhere and many species are endoparasites.
- Example: Nematodes, Dracuculus
Entoprocta
Lives in all aquatic environments and feeds on fine materials. It is bilaterally symmetrical and can reproduce sexually and asexually.
- Example: Marine Mats, Entoprocts(above), Bryozoans
Platyhelminthes
Bilaterally symmetrical, feed on animals and other smaller life forms, and has a blind gut.
- Example: Flat Worms (above), Turbellaria
Placozoa
It has no symmetry or constant shape, shaped like a flat disk, and lives in most marine envrironments.
- Example: Placozoa (above), Plankton
Porifera
Multicellular, reproduces sexually or asexully, has no nervous system and lives in aquatic environments.
- Example: Sponges, Sycon (above)
Brachiopoda
Bilaterally symmetrical, feeds on fine material in the water and lives in maring environments.
- Example: Lamp Shell (above)
Acanthocephala
- Example: Spiny-headed Worm, Palaeacanthocephala
Cnidaria
Radially symmetrical, multicellular, and are mostly carnivorous otherwise filter feeders.
- Examples: Sea Anenomes, Jellyfishes( above)
Rotifera
Bilaterally symmetrical, they feed on bacteria and protist, and they live in aquatic environments.
- Example: Rotifers (above), Synchaeta
Vertebrate
Characteristics:
- They have a backbone (image the right)
- Well developed nervous system and brain
- Can be warm or cold blooded
Specialized Cells/Tissues That Allow Them to Function:
- Braincase- A cranium that protects the brain.
- Vertebrae- Series of short, stiff vertebrae separated by joints. Protects the backbone that allows animals to move and bend.
- Bones- Support and protect the body’s tissue.
Chordate (on the right)
Vocab:
Monotreme - A mammal that lays eggs.
Marsupial - A mammal that has a pouch.
5 Main Types of Vertebrate:
- Fish
- Amphibian
- Reptilian
- Bird
- Mammal
Fish
Taxonomy:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Siluriformes
Amphibian
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Family: Hylidae
Genus: Agalychnis
Species: A. callidryas
Reptilian
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Varanoidae
Genus: Varanus
Species: Varanus komodoensis
Aves (birds)
ORDER: PASSERIFORMES
FAMILY: CORVIDAE
Mammal
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Proboscidae
Family: Elephantidae
Genus: Loxodonta & Elephas
Species: Africana & Maximus