Phylum

Symm
etry

Exampl
Characteristics
es
Hydra,

Cnidarian

Radial

Polyps tentacles

Jellyfish,

that serve for

Sea

catching prey
Medusa flattened

version of Polyps
Nematocysts

Anemones,
Corals

stinging capsules
Platyhelminth
es
Nematodes

Flatworms,
Bilateral

Bilateral

Bilateral

Can be a predator,

Flukes,

scavenger, or

Tapeworms

parasite

Roundworm
s
Snails,

Mollusca

Non-segmental

bodies
Decomposers

Soft body w/ hard

slugs,

exterior (made of

squid,

Calcium)

octopi,
clams,
oyster
Earthworm

Annelida

Bilateral

Different body

segments
Circular system

May go through

metamorphosis
Segmented body w/

s, leeches,
marine
worms

Arthropods

Bilateral

Crustacean
s,
arachnids,

insects
Sea stars,
Echinodermat
a

sea urchin,
Bilateral

sand
dollars, sea
cucumbers

defined head
Hard exoskeleton

(cuticle) that molts

Jointed appendages

Spiny skin
Tubes on their feet
that move using a
water vascular
system

Class
Amphibia

Characteristics

Frogs, toads, salamanders

1st on land
Metamorphosis
Lack shelled egg
Moist skin for gas exchange
Paedogenesis: precocious development of
sexual maturity in a larva (link with
vertebrates?) Axolotl

Reptilia

Lizards, snakes, turtles, crocodilians

Shelled egg with extraembryonic
membranes (gas exchange, waste

Aves

storage, nutrient storage)

No feathers/ hair/ mammary glands
Ectothermic
Waterproof scales with protein keratin

Birds
Flight adaptations: wings, honeycomb
bones, feathers, toothless, one ovary, no

Mammalia

compacted poop
Evolved from reptiles (shelled egg and

leg scales)
Endothermic 4 chambered heart

Monotremes (Egg laying):

o Platypus
Marsupials (pouch):
o Kangaroo, koala, opposums
Eutherian (placenta):
o All other mammals
o Humans
Mammary glands, hair (keratin), large
brains, teeth difference (herbivore vs.

Osteichthyes

omnivore vs. carnivore)

Evolved from reptiles before birds
Endothermic 4 chambered heart

Fish
Bony (ossified) endoskeleton, gill
covering (operculum) scales, swim

bladder (buoyancy)

Type of Plant
Bryophyte

Pteridophytes

Gymnosperms

Angiosperms

Characteristics
Mosses (fuzzy blobs)
Need H2O
1st to show embryonic condition
o Male = antheridium
o Female = archegonium
Water (flagellated) sperm
No vascular tissue (take up water
through diffusion and osmosis)
No lignin (short)
Dominant generation: Haploid (n)
Ferns
True roots and leaves
Lignified vascular tissue in roots (can
be taller than bryophytes)
Sporophyte-dominant life cycle (2n)
o Single type of spore
o Bisexual gametophyte
o Eggs/ sperm (flagellated; damp
locations)
Conifers (Pine tree) evergreens
Cone-bearing plants
Do not have enclosed ovaries for
seeds
Ovules and seeds develop on
specialized leaves sporophylls
Vascular tissue refinement
o Tracheids ~ water conducting
supportive element of xylem
o Thinner and taller
All flowering plants!
Monocots:
o 1 embryonic seed leaf
o Lilies, palms, grasses, grain
crops
Dicots:
o 2 embryonic seed leaves

o Roses, peas, sunflowers, oaks,

maples
Vascular tissue refinement:
o Xylem and phloem
o Fiber cells