Phylum Porifera- Sponges: Porifera refers to “thousands of holes,” or pores, on the outside of sponges. Sponges are the simplest of the invertebrates and have no symmetry, head, nerves or gut. Sponges live in the ocean and come in various shapes and sizes. Also, sponges are divided into classes according to what type of spicules they have. Spicules are needlelike splinters that act as the skeleton of the sponge. Sponges are very unique because they can regenerate their body parts whenever one of their body parts is broken apart by being forced through a sieve. Just like the sponge’s regenerative abilities, they have also a unique way of eating. Sponges use collar cells to filter food particles from the water and digest them. Sponges are a very unique kind of invertebrate.

Phylum Cnidaria- Jellyfish, Coral, Sea anemones: Cnidaria, in Greek is called “nettle.” There are three types of Cnidaria; jellyfish, coral, and sea anemones. Jellyfish (For example, the sea nettle jellyfish) belong to this phylum because they have stinging barbs in the skin so whenever you touch them, you’d get stung! Coral (For example, the lettuce coral) belong to this phylum because of they stay in the form of a polyp all their life. Some corals don’t have stinging barbs but use their barbs to catch floating food particles. Sea anemones (For example, the club- tipped anemone) belong to this phylum because just like the coral, they stay in the form of polyps all their life. Jellyfish are different than coral and sea anemones because jellyfish turn into the form of medusa and coral and sea anemones stay in the form of polyps.

Phylum Platyhelminthes- Flatworms, planaria/tapeworms: Flatworms are the simplest group of worms. They are 3 classes of flatworms which are planarian, tapeworms and flukes (we will not discuss flukes). Planarians are a predator that eats other animals or parts of animals. They may also stalk and attack tiny animals and eat dead creatures. Furthermore, Tapeworms are parasites that feed on other creatures, usually without killing them. They find a way to get inside the creature, usually by being consumed, and then live and reproduce. Planarians and tapeworms are different because planarians don’t have to go inside a living creature to eat it and tapeworms are a parasitic type so they have to find a host in order to eat.

Phylum Nematoda- Round worms: Pinworms, Trichina, and Hook Worms: Nematoda, or round worms are worms very long worms with bilateral symmetry. These kinds of worms break down tissues of pants and animals and help build rich soils. Pinworms (For example, the Dentostomella translucida, also know as the mouse pinworm) belong to this phylum because of their parasitic nature. Like some flatworms, pinworms find a host and reproduce their eggs inside their host in which the newly hatched worms can live off the host for about 2 weeks. Trichina, or Trichinella spiralis is another parasite but this time it comes from infected pork. Once someone eats infected pork, it will cause a severe illness called trichinosis.Hook worms belong to this phylum because of their same parasitic abilities as all of the other types of nematoda. Just thinking of these kinds of worms make you want to always stay away from them! Pinworms and hook worms are different than the trichina because pinworms and hook worms don’t need to infect some pork in order to get their host.

Phylum Annelida- Segmented worms: earthworms: Annelid worms are called segmented worms because their body is made into segments. They are a much more complex type of worm than flatworms and roundworms. Earthworms belong to this phylum because of their many segments. Earthworms have up to 100 to 175 segments at most! Also, Earthworms eat soil and then break them down into castings, which are execrate wastes. These wastes help the soil become very rich in nutrients.

Phylum Echinodermata- Starfish (sea stars), sea urchins, and sand dollars: There are about 7,000 different types of echinodermata that range from sand dollars, starfish and sea urchins. Starfish (For example, the Northern Sea Star) belongs to this phylum because of the way it consumes the other organisms. Starfish consume the other organisms by turning its stomach inside out and pushes it out of it’s mouth, then consumes organisms fleshy parts, such as clams into it’s mouth. Sea urchins (For example, Red sea urchins) belong to this phylum because of their spiny needles that help them eat food such as algae on rocks. Sand dollars are almost the same as sea urchins but sand dollars burrow into the ground to get their food. Starfish, sea urchins, and sand dollars are all different because of their unique way of eating like Starfish eat by extending their stomach and consuming organisms such as clams, sea urchins use their spiny needles to help them eat algae from rocks; sand dollars burrow into the ground to eat tiny particles of food.

Phylum Mollusca- Gastropods, bivalves, and cephalopod: Most mollusks are divided into 3 classes” gastropods, bivalves, and cephalopod. Mollusks may not look the same but their bodies have almost the same internal organs. Gastropods (For example, slugs and snail) have a soft body covered by a shell in which all other mollusks have. Bivalves (For example, clams and two- shelled shellfish) belong to this phylum because bivalves have a broad, muscular foot in which mollusks have. Cephalopods (For example, squids and octopuses) belong to the phylum because they have visceral mass, which is located above the foot and all mollusks have this. They all may seem almost the same but each type of mollusk has their own unique way of eating. Gastropods use their curved teeth to scrape algae off rocks, bivalves sit in one place and filter food particles around them, and cephlapods use their tentacles to grab their prey and insert it into their mouth.

Phylum Arthopoda- Crustaceans, archnids, centipedes, millipedes, and insects: Arthropods is the largest group of organisms on earth. All arthropods have jointed limbs, segmented body, exoskeleton, and a well developed nervous system. Crustaceans (For example, crabs and lobster) belong to this phylum because of their segmented body and special limbs, or claws. Arachnids (For example, tarantulas) belong to this phylum because, just like the crustacean, they have a segmented body with special parts like their legs. Centipedes and millipedes belong to this phylum because of their segmented body and special parts suck as their head capsule. Insects belong to this phylum because of their compound eye in which they use to see images just as we do. All of these Arthropoda are different because of their appearance.