BIO 111- INTRODUCTION TO PLANT AND ANIMAL BIOLOGY II

A GENEREAL OVERVIEW OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM

At the end of this lecture, Students are expected to:
i. Identify the major phyla and their characteristics
ii. Note the common names of each phylum ( where applicable)
iii. Understand the similarities and differences in the external features of
major phyla

HIERACHYCAL CLASSIFICATION OF ANIMALS

Acronym
K- Kings- Kingdom (5 Kingdom of living things)
P- Play- Phylum (Plural Phyla) – over 35 Phyla but 9 are the major
C- Card - Class
O- On - Order
F- Fine - Family
G- Green - Genus
S- Sand- Species
Zoologist adopt the Binomial/ Trinomial System of nomenclature ( Naming)

THE 9 MAJOR PHYLA

These nine include Porifera, Coelentrata, Platyhelminthe, Nematoda,
Annelida, Arthropoda, Mollusca, Echinodermata, and Chordata.
Protozoa (Kingdom Protista)
Protozoa (sg.: protozoan or protozoon; alternative plural: protozoans) are
a polyphyletic group of single-celled eukaryotes, either free-living or parasitic, that
feed on organic matter such as other microorganisms or organic debris.
Historically, protozoans were regarded as "one-celled animals". Protozoa are
mostly free living and they occur throughout the world in different habitats.
Protozoa differ from multicellular organisms because they are single celled and all
life sustaining processes occur within a single cell. Most protozoa are microscopic
but range in sizes from about 0.005mm to 5m.

PHYLUM PORIFERA
Sponges (also known as sea sponges), the members of
the phylum Porifera (/pəˈrɪfərə/; meaning 'pore bear. They
are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing
water to circulate through them, consisting of jelly-like mesohyl sandwiched
between two thin layers of cells.

PHYLUM COELENTRATA
Coelenterata is a term encompassing the animal phyla Cnidaria and Ctenophora
(comb jellies).These are group of over 9000 species and takes its name from cells
called Cnidocytes which contains a tube- or cup-shaped body with a single
opening ringed with tentacles that bear stinging organelles called Nematocysts.
They are aquatic invertebrate animal of a phylum that includes jellyfishes, corals,
and sea anemones. They are sometimes referred to as RADIATE phyla

CTENOPHORA - They are notable for the groups of cilia they use for swimming
(commonly referred to as "combs"), and they are the largest animals to swim with
the help of cilia. Their bodies consist of a mass of jelly, with a layer two cells thick
on the outside, and another lining the internal cavity. They are mostly predators.

PHYLUM ROTIFERA- The rotifers are a microscopic (about 100 µm to 30 mm) group
of mostly aquatic organisms that get their name from the corona, a rotating, wheel-
like structure that is covered with cilia at their anterior end ( While animalcules).
The body form of rotifers consists of a head (which contains the corona), a trunk
(which contains the organs), and the foot. Rotifers are typically free-swimming and
truly planktonic organisms, but the toes or extensions of the foot can secrete a
sticky material forming a holdfast to help them adhere to surfaces.

PHYLUM PLATYHELMINTHS- Flatworms

These are worms that live in marine fresh water or moist terrestrial environments.
Out of 15,000 species, about 13,000 are parasitic.They are a phylum of relatively
simple bilaterian, unsegmented, soft-bodied invertebrates.
Being acoelomates (having no body cavity), and having no
specialised circulatory and respiratory organs, they are restricted to having
flattened shapes that allow oxygen and nutrients to pass through their bodies
by diffusion.

PHYLUM ANNELIDA (Segmented worms)

The word Annelida was first coined by Lamarck. This phylum includes elongated
worm like earthworms, nereis leeches etc. They show segmented body. The
annelids are distributed all over the world. Nearly 7,000 species are known today.
The smallest annelid is Chetogaster which measures 1 mm in length while the
largest annelid is Megascolides australis which measures about 11 feet in length.
Many of the annelids are marine but some are terrestrial.
PHYLUM NEMATODA
They are commonly called roundworms . These are unsegmented animals with
anterior lateral organs called phasmid while some species lack phasmid. They are a
diverse animal phylum inhabiting a broad range of environments. Most species are
free-living, feeding on microorganisms, but there are many that are parasitic. The
parasitic worms (helminths) are the cause of soil-transmitted helminthiases.
PHYLUM MOLLUSCA(snails)

This is a very successful phylum of over 93,000 named, living species. They are the
second largest number of living species for animals after Arthropoda. They are
mostly aquatic, but have over 35,000 terrestrial species (more than all terrestrial
vertebrates). They include snails, slugs, clams, oysters, chitons, cuttlefish, octopi,
etc. They range from microscopic to 21 m (giant squid – largest invertebrate). They
are economically important because they could serve as food, ornamentation,
currency, pests etc.
PHYLUM ARTHROPODA
They are the largest phylum in the animal kingdom and over one million species
are known. They are found in every habitat and are widely distributed all over the
earth more than any other animal phyla. They include: crabs, crawfish, shrimp,
spiders, scorpions, mites, ticks, millipedes, centipedes, insects (dragonflies,
butterflies, ants, wasps, beetles, etc). The distinguishing feature of arthropods is
the presence of a jointed skeletal covering composed of chitin (a complex sugar)
bound to protein. This nonliving exoskeleton is secreted by the
underlying epidermis (which corresponds to the skin of other animals). Arthropods
lack locomotory cilia, even in the larval stages, probably because of the presence
of the exoskeleton. The body is usually segmented, and the segments bear paired
jointed appendages, from which the name arthropod (“jointed feet”) is derived

PHYLUM ECHINODERMATA
The word ‘ Echinoderm’ means ‘prickly skin’. They have extremely abundant fossil
records and 15 classes of extinct species and 5 living classes. An echinoderm is any
animal of the phylum Echinodermata which includes starfish, brittle stars, sea
urchins, sand dollars and sea cucumbers. The echinoderms are important both
ecologically and geologically. Ecologically, there are few other groupings so
abundant in the biotic desert of the deep sea, as well as shallower oceans. Most
echinoderms are able to reproduce asexually and regenerate tissue, organs and
limbs; in some cases, they can undergo complete regeneration from a single limb.
PHYLUM CHORDATA

The most advanced phylum in the animal kingdom is the Phylum Chordata, with
about 48,000 species. Some of the largest and most massive animals on earth are
found in this phylum and they are found everywhere. Chordates are animals with
vertebral column (notochord) at the embryonic stage or throughout life cycle. The
Vertebral column is derived from notochord. The name ‘chordates’ is gotten from
the term notochord

THE DIFFERENCES AND SIMILARITIES OF EXTERNAL FEATURES OF THE

VARIOUS PHYLA
1. SYMMETRY
A basic feature of animal bodies is their type of symmetry—or absence of
symmetry.
symmetry, in biology, the repetition of the parts in an animal or plant in an orderly
fashion. Specifically, symmetry refers to a correspondence of body parts, in size,
shape, and relative position, on opposite sides of a dividing line or distributed
around a central point or axis.

The Phylum porifera (Sponges) is Asymmetric ( with out symmetry). Sea anemones,
for example, have a top side (where the mouth is located) and a bottom side. But
they have no front and back ends and no left and right sides. Phyla that exhibit
radial symmetry are Cnidaria, Ctenophora, Echinodermata (Adult stage). Many
radial animals are sessile (living attached to a substrate) or planktonic (drifting or
weakly swimming, such as jellies, commonly called jellyfishes). Their symmetry
equips them to meet the environment equally well from all sides.

The two-sided symmetry seen in a shovel is an example of bilateral symmetry. A

bilateral animal has two axes of orientation: front to back and top to bottom. Such
animals have a dorsal (top) side and a ventral (bottom) side, a left side and a right
side, and an anterior (front) end and a posterior (back) end. Many animals with a
bilaterally symmetrical body plan (such as arthropods and mammals) have sensory
equipment concentrated at their anterior end, including a central nervous system
(“brain”) in the head—an evolutionary trend called cephalization (from the Greek
kephale, head). The symmetry of an animal generally fits its lifestyle. Bilateral
animals typically move actively from place to place. Most bilateral animals have a
central nervous system that enables them to coordinate the complex movements
involved in crawling, burrowing, flying, or swimming. Fossil evidence indicates that
these two fundamentally different kinds of symmetry have been present for at least
550 million years.
2. TISSUES
Animal body plans also vary with regard to tissue organization. In animals, true
tissues are collections of specialized cells isolated from other tissues by
membranous layers.
In sponges. They lack true tissues.
In all other animals, the embryo becomes layered through the process of
gastrulation (Gastrulation is an early developmental process in which an embryo
transforms from a one-dimensional layer of epithelial cells, a blastula, and
reorganizes into a multilayered and multidimensional structure called the gastrula).
As development progresses, these concentric layers, called germ layers, form the
various tissues and organs of the body. Ectoderm, the germ layer covering the
surface of the embryo, gives rise to the outer covering of the animal and, in some
phyla, to the central nervous system. Endoderm, the innermost germ layer, lines
the pouch that forms during gastrulation (the archenteron) and gives rise to the
lining of the digestive tract (or cavity) and organs such as the liver and lungs of
vertebrates. Animals that have only these two germ layers are said to be
diploblastic. Diploblasts include the animals called Cnidarians (jellies and corals,
for example) as well as the Ctenophora .
All bilaterally symmetrical animals have a third germ layer, called the mesoderm,
which fills much of the space between the ectoderm and endoderm. Thus, animals
with bilateral symmetry are also said to be triploblastic (having three germ layers).
In triploblasts, the mesoderm forms the muscles and most other organs between
the digestive tract and the outer covering of the animal. Triploblasts include a
broad range of animals, from flatworms to arthropods to vertebrates. (Although
some diploblasts actually do have a third germ layer, it is not nearly as well
developed as the mesoderm of animals considered to be triploblastic.)

3. BODY CAVITIES
Most triploblastic animals have a body cavity, a fluid- or airfilled space located
between the digestive tract and the outer body wall. This body cavity is also called
a coelom (from the Greek koilos, hollow). A so-called “true” coelom forms from
tissue derived from mesoderm. The inner and outer layers of tissue that surround
the cavity connect and form structures that suspend the internal organs. Animals
with a true coelom are known as coelomates . Phyla that have true coelom –
Annelida, Mollusca,Arthropoda, Echinodermata, Chordates.
Some triploblastic animals have a body cavity that is formed from mesoderm and
endoderm. Such a cavity is called a “pseudocoelom” (from the Greek pseudo, false),
and the animals that have one are called pseudocoelomates. Despite its name,
however, a pseudocoelom is not false; it is a fully functional body cavity. Example
of phyla are Rotifera and Nematoda.
Finally, some triplobastic animals lack a body cavity altogether. They are known
collectively as acoelomates (from the Greek a-, without) eg Platyhelminths.
 A body cavity has many functions. Its fluid cushions the suspended organs, helping
to prevent internal injury. In softbodied coelomates, such as earthworms, the
coelom contains noncompressible fluid that acts like a skeleton against which
muscles can work. The cavity also enables the internal organs to grow and move
independently of the outer body wall. If it were not for your coelom, for example,
every beat of your heart or ripple of your intestine would warp your body’s surface.
Terms such as coelomates and pseudocoelomates refer to organisms that have a
similar body plan and hence belong to the same grade (a group whose members
share key biological features). However, phylogenetic studies show that true
coeloms and pseudocoeloms have been independently gained or lost multiple
times in the course of animal evolution. As illustrated by this example, a grade is
not necessarily equivalent to a clade (a group that includes an ancestral species and
all of its descendants). Thus, while describing an organism as a coelomate or
pseudocoelomate can be helpful in describing certain of its features, these terms
must be interpreted with caution when seeking to understand evolutionary history.