Science : Year 7 - "Classifications" Investigation - Animal Phylum Group Presentation: Home

Annelids belong to the phylum Annelida and they are the diverse group of organisms. This group contains species like earthworms, leeches, and marine worms.
Further the annelids can be classified in to three classes. They are:
Class Polycheta
Class Hirudinea
Class Oligochaeta

Annelids are vermiform, bilaterally symmetrical, triploblastic and schizocoelomate animals whose body is metamerically segmented and covered with a layer of cuticle. Body bears segmentally arranged setae or chetae. Acron is divided into prostomium and peristomeum and the posterior terminal segment is called pygidium. Blood vascular system is closed type and a respiratory pigment is usually present. Excretion takes place by nephridia.
Body length varies from less than 1 mm to more than 3 m. The Giant Earthworm (Megascolides australis) can attain 1 m length. The South American leech, Haementeriaghilianii, can reach more than 40 cm in length. There are more than 9000 species of annelids in the world.

Fish and their families
Fishes have a range of body sizes from the massive whale shark down to the smallest fish under a centimetre in length. Despite this diversity, all fish have a backbone or a notochord, and all breathe using gills. Worldwide there are over 32,000 described species of fish, with over 4,400 from Australia.
Fish are classified into two groups: cartilaginous fish or bony fish. Cartilaginous fish are characterised by their bones made of cartilage, this include sharks and rays. The majority of fish are considered bony fish, it is a much more diverse group with over 28,000 species. Bony fish include the Mackerel tuna and Eastern Australian salmon.

Fish, the member of the Animalia Kingdom is classified into Phylum Chordata and Vertebrata Subphylum. Fishes poses notochord, tubular nerve chord, paired gills, segmentation of the body parts, post anal tail, ventral heart, and an endoskeleton to be the member of the Chordata. In order to be a vertebrate, it poses backbone. This back bone supports and protects the spinal cord.

Fish, any of approximately 34,000 species of vertebrate animals (phylum Chordata) found in the fresh and salt waters of the world. Living species range from the primitive jawless lampreys and hagfishes through the cartilaginous sharks, skates, and rays to the abundant and diverse bony fishes. Most fish species are cold-blooded; however, one species, the opah (Lampris guttatus), is warm-blooded.

Unlike arthropods, echinoderm classification is not currently undergoing any drastic changes, and essentially all existing species fall into five clearly defined classes. Classifications that include all of the fossil species are somewhat more complex and can include 25 different classes. The five classes of existing echinoderms are these:
Crinoidea.
Asteroidea.
Ophiuroidea.
Echinoidea.
Holothuroidea.

Echinoderms are marine organisms that make up the phylum Echinodermata. They can be found in the ocean from the equator to the poles.

Today, scientists classify reptiles into four major groups known as "orders." These four reptile orders are as follows:
Crocodilia — crocodiles, gharials, caimans and alligators: 23 species
Sphenodontia — tuataras from New Zealand: 2 species
Squamata — lizards, snakes and amphisbaenids ("worm-lizards"): about 7,900 species
Testudines — turtles and tortoises: approximately 300 species

Scientist classifies the reptiles present in the world into four main groups known as orders. The four groups are as follows:
Crocodilia
Sphenodonita
Squamata
Testudines

The Class Amphibia (or amphibians) includes three Orders:
Anura (frogs and toads) – about 6,500 species
Caudata or Urodela (newts and salamanders) – about 680 species
Gymnophiona or Apoda (caecilians) – about 205 species

An amphibian is a class of animals that live their lives both in and out of water. There are three orders within this class, the most common of which includes frogs and toads. Learn more about these animals, and take a short quiz at the end.

Amphibians are cold-blooded animals that possess backbones and display features that lie between those of fish and reptiles. They spend time both in water and on land. Their larvae (not yet fully developed offspring) mature in water and breathe through gills, like fish, while adults breathe air through lungs and skin. Amphibians are in the class Amphibia, which includes over 3,500 species. They are further divided into three orders: Anura (frogs and toads), Urodela (salamanders and newts), and Gymnophiona (caecilians, pronounced sih-SILL-yuhns, which are wormlike in appearance).

Arthropods, which make up the phylum Arthropoda, is the largest group of invertebrates (animals without a vertebral column) consisting of well over 80 percent of all animals. The phylum includes such animals as spiders, insects, shrimps and craps among many others that can be found in a wide range of environments from the ocean floor to the mountain peaks.

Insect, (class Insecta or Hexapoda), any member of the largest class of the phylum Arthropoda, which is itself the largest of the animal phyla.

Cnidarian, also called coelenterate, any member of the phylum Cnidaria (Coelenterata), a group made up of more than 9,000 living species. Mostly marine animals, the cnidarians include the corals, hydras, jellyfish, Portuguese men-of-war, sea anemones, sea pens, sea whips, and sea fans.

Phylum Coelenterata
Phylum Coelenterata is a group of aquatic, or marine organisms and a member of the Animal kingdom. They are usually found attached to the rocks at the bottom of the sea. These are the multicellular and simplest group of invertebrate animals, found in colonies or solitarily.

The Cnidaria is the phylum of animals that contains corals, jellyfish (sea jellies), sea anemones, sea pens, and hydrozoans. Cnidarian species are diverse, but these animals share many similar characteristics. Cnidarians are also known as coelenterates, a reference to the name for their digestive cavity.

The main difference between sponges and protozoa is that sponges are marine invertebrates that belong to the phylum Porifera whereas protozoa are a diverse group of unicellular eukaryotes, a subdivision of kingdom Protista.

Phylum – Porifera includes organisms with holes.

The classification of birds involves grouping of birds into categories according to physiological similarities, and more recently, by consideration of their genetic make-up. This classification is also known as taxonomy. The system of classification was created by Carl Linnaeus.

On the windowsills of city buildings pigeons softly coo to each other. Down in the streets the noisy house sparrows quarrel and chatter. The farmyard is busy with scratching, clucking chickens. Ducks and geese paddle in the farm pond. All these very different creatures are birds.

Platyhelminthes very commonly known as flatworms or tapeworms, these animals are soft-bodied invertebrate animals. There are around 20,000 species of these animals.

Commonly known as roundworms, nematodes are a group of worms that make up the phylum Nematoda. With well over 15,000 species identified today, they can be found in different habitats ranging from terrestrial to marine environments. Nematodes exist as free living organisms in terrestrial and aquatic environments or as parasites of both plants and animals.

Annelids are a large Phylum of segmented worms with over 17,000 modern species including Ragworms, Earthworms and Leeches.

The phylum Mollusca includes a wide variety of animals including the gastropods (“stomach foot”), the cephalopods (“head foot”), and the scaphopods (“boat foot”).

Molluscans are very diverse animals and form an important part of the ecosystem in the world. Some animals that you are familiar with like snails, octopuses, squids, oysters, clams etc. all belong to Phylum Mollusca. Did you know that Molluscs with shells can produce pearls? Some of these are also eaten by humans in different regions of the world.

Mammals are the largest class in the animal world. Mammals are of different types and can be distinguished up into marine mammals, smaller mammals and larger mammals. Mammals belong to the class mammalia.

Since mammals are of different types they are classified into three subclass based on their reproduction. They are Eutheria, Metatheria and Prototheria.

Among the mammals, there are three major variations in reproductive systems. This is the basis for dividing them into subclasses and infraclasses.