There are three phyla of animals represented here. Can you name them?
There are millions of plant and animal species on Earth. Scientists identify different species according to a classification developed in the early 18th century by Carl Linnaeus. In this Linnaean system, all the animals fall under one enormous kingdom -- animalia. Within this kingdom, all animals fall under one of 36 phyla, the plural of phylum. The vast majority of species are members of only nine of these phyla. The other 27 contain only a small number of species each.
Instructions
1. Remember the phylum Chordata. This does not contain the largest number of species, but it does contain the entire subphylum Vertebrata, which includes every animal with a backbone. That's every reptile, amphibian and mammal, including humans. There are thousands of species of mammal, broken down into 19 orders, all under the phylum Chordata. Most chordate species, including all of the common ones, have a backbone. Some do not possess a backbone, but all have a notochord, a related structure that may be seen only in embryonic development in some species. Remember the word "chord" if you are trying to identify an animal with a backbone and you should have no trouble coming up with Chordata.
2. Don't worry about the difference among insects, arachnids and crustaceans, not to mention whatever that creepy thousand-legger is. They all fall under the phylum Arthropoda. Anything with an exoskeleton and more legs than you is an arthropod. The insect class within this phylum contains more than half of all identified animal species. Statistically speaking, if you pick an animal at random, it's probably an arthropod.
3. Look a little closer to identify the phyla for animals that are neither chordates nor arthropods. If it isn't a fish or a crustacean, but might be classified by some as "seafood," it's probably a mollusk. The phylum Molluska includes snails, clams, oysters, octopuses and squid.
4. Separate the worms. There are three phyla of worms -- flatworms, Platyhelminthes; round worms, Nematoda; and segmented worms, Annelida, which includes earthworms.
5. Catch a rising star with the phylum Echinodermata. This includes starfish and sand dollars, animals with fivefold radial symmetry. If the animal could be divided into five roughly identical pieces that all meet in the center, that's Echinodermata. Not that you should do this. Echinodermata is Greek for "spiny skin." You can probably remember that "derma" means skin from its appearance in such other words as "dermatologist."
6. Distinguish between the last two phyla -- Cnidaria and Porifera -- that, along with the ones already mentioned, make up the vast majority of all animal species. Cnidaria are jellyfish, which are not, fish (those are all chordates). Porifera are sponges, which you might have a tough time recognizing as animals at all. But they are, and it's easy to remember if you think of the word "porous."
Tags: animal species, fall under, animal with, animal with backbone, animals fall
