Janna Maurice A.

Juarez
BS Psychology I

Assignment in Biology:

Phylum Porifera
Etymology: - From the Latin porus for pore and ferre to bear, hence an animal with pores.
Characteristics of Porifera:-
• No definite symmetry.
• Body multicultural, few tissues, no organs.
• Cells and tissues surround a water filled space but there is no true body cavity.
• All are sessile, (live attached to something as an adult).
• Reproduce sexually or asexually, sexual reproduction can be either gonochoristic or hermaphroditic.
• Has no nervous system.
• Has a distinct larval stage which is plank tonic.
• Lives in aquatic environments, mostly marine.
• All are filter feeders.
• Often have a skeleton of spicules.
Sponges are one of the better known groups of invertebrates, due to their usefulness in the bath many
people who care nothing for invertebrates at least know name and may even have seen a sponge’s skeleton
on sale in a shop. One of the more amazing things about sponges is there ability to suffer damage. Because
the cells are not linked in a tissue it is possible for them to be separated a then come together again. Some
species such as the freshwater sponge Ephydatia fluviatilis can be pushed through a sieve, and then if given
time the individual cells will come together again and make a new sponge.
A sponge is a simple organism that is easy to describe. A sponge is a sedentary, filter-feeding
metazoan which has a single layer of flagellated cells that drive a unidirectional current of water through its
body. Such a brief description though does not do them justice. Sponges are an ancient and highly successful
group of animals. In the Paleozoic they are believed to have comprised more than half the biomass in marine
reefs. They have been living in the waters of the world for more than 600 million years, and can now be
found in all marine and many freshwater habitats. Sponges occur in rivers and streams, from rock pools to
the deep ocean depths, from frozen arctic seas to the warm tropical seas. They are perhaps at their most
beautiful in tropical marine seas. There are about 10,000 known species and though their basic organization
is pretty simple and remains fairly constant throughout the all species they do manage to show a great variety
of forms.
Anatomy
The body of a sponge is a collection of a few different types of cells loosely arranged in a gelatinous
matrix called a 'mesohyl', mesogloea or mesenchyme. This mesohyl is the connective tissue of a sponge
body and it is supported by the skeletal elements. The skeletal elements of sponges are variable and
important in taxonomy. Throughout this body run canals through which water flows, there is considerable
variation in the complexity of these canals. The canals have openings to the outside which are called pores,
where the water enters the sponge system these pores are usually small and are called 'ostia' and where the
water leaves the sponge system the pores are larger, often singular and are called 'oscula' (singular
osculum). Many if not most of these canals are lined with special flagellated cells called 'choanocytes'.
These choanocytes keep the water flowing through the canals in the correct direction by beating their
flagellum, they are also important in trapping food items.
There are three main types of canal system in sponges. The simplest form is Asconoid, here the
canals run straight through the sponge body and all the choanocytes line the central large space called the
'spongocoel'. The water enters the ostia, is drawn through to the spongocoel and leaves through a single
large osculum. Asconoid sponges have cylindrical hollow bodies and tend to grow in groups attached to
some object or other in relatively shallow seas.
 Slightly more complicated are Syconoid sponges, externally they are fairly similar to asconoid
sponges except that their body wall is thicker. The canals are branched however and do not allow the water
to flow straight through in to the spongocoel. Instead the water flows a twisted route through a number of
canals some of which are lined with choanocytes before being expelled into the spongocoel and out through
the osculum. The spongocoel is not lined with choanocytes only the canals. Syconoid sponges go through a
asconoid stage in their development suggesting that they evolved from some ancestral asconoid. Syconoid
sponges do not normally form groups as do asconoid sponges.
Most modern sponge species are Leuconoid. In leuconoid sponges the canal system is more
complicated again with the canals being longer and more branched, they lead to special chambers whose
walls are lined by choanocytes, there are no choanocytes in the canals. There is no real spongocoel just a
central exit canal leading to the osculum. Leuconoid sponges tend to live in large groups with each
individual sponge having its own osculum, however the borders between individual sponges are often hard to
define and the sponge may act more like a large communal organism.
Sponges are built up from relatively few cell types, the main ones being choanocytes, pinacocytes,
amoebocytes and lophocytes.
• Choanocytes are vase shaped cells with a collar of fine fibrils connected by microvilli. This is a filter
which strains out the smallest food items from the water such as individual bacteria. Extending from
the centre of this collar is the single flagellum whose beating drives the water currents that keep the
sponge alive and healthy.
• Pinacocytes, these form much of the epidermis of sponges and are as close as a sponge gets to have a
tissue. Generally they cover the exterior and some interior surfaces. They can change their size (they
are contractile) and can therefore change the size of the openings of the ostia thus controlling the flow
of water through the sponge. Pinacocytes are also implicated in the absorption into the sponge of
larger food items.
• Amoebocytes come in several forms, they are alike in that they are mobile and move around within
the sponge body. Archaeocytes are the basis of some asexual reproductive gemmules. If an
amoebocyte secretes the spongin fibres of the skeleton they are called a spongioblast, if it secretes
spicules it is called a scleroblast and if it is star shaped and secrete collagenous fibrils then it is called
a collencyte.
• Lophocytes are a type of amoebocyte, they are the most motile of the sponge cells moving around
relatively freely within the mesohyl where they are important in the secretion of fibrils.

Sponges have skeletons, if it were not so they would be just blobs. There are two main components of a
sponge skeleton, a protein called spongin which forms a tough fibrous network throughout the sponge and
normally works in conjunction with the spicules. Spicules are non-living aggregates of a chemical nature,
secreted and made from either silica or calcium carbonate as calcite or aragonite. These spicules are
important in the classification of sponges, thus we can say that.
• The Calcarea sponges have spicules of calcium carbonate that have 1,3 or 4 rays, a a skeleton that
involves a single large lump of calcium carbonate rather than spicules.
• The Demospongiae have their spicules made from silica and they have 1,2, or 4 rays.
• The Sclerospongiae have a compound skeleton of spicules of silica that is restricted to thin layer of
living sponge supported on a large basal layer of calcium carbonate.
• The Hexactinellida or 'Glass sponges' have spicules made from silica that are 6 rayed.
Individual spicules can be arranged loosely within the spongin or interlocking and fused together,
siliceous spicules come in two sizes called megascleres and microscleres.
Ecology
All sponges are filter feeders on small to extremely small particles and most are sedentary or
immobile as adults, i.e. they spend their adult lives fixed to a substrate.
 The reproductive ecology of most sponges has never been studied so the following generalization is
based on the few species that are reasonably well known and should not be taken as the last word in sponge
reproductive ecology.
Sponges are generally hermaphroditic, however they are only one gender at a time, being either male
or female or neuter and some species such as Halichondria moorei change color when they change sexes
though most do not. Sponges have no permanent gonads; instead a number of areas of the sponge will during
the reproductive period become differentiated (changed) to produce either sperm or ova (eggs). Sperm is
released into the canals and is then pumped out of the sponge through the osculum where it is likely to be
drawn into the canal system of another sponge. Here incoming sperm of the same species are trapped by the
choanocytes which then loose their flagellum and collar and migrate through the mesohyl to the ovocyte, a
cell generating ova, where the sperm are transferred to the ova, assuming this is a sponge in its female form.
Sperm release can be an individual act as in Verongia archeri or it can be a coordinated affair with many
sponges in an area releasing their sperm simultaneously as in Neofibularia nolitangere.
The fertilized ova are retained within the adult sponge until some unknown signal indicates it is time
for their release. They are then set free into the surrounding waters. Once an adult begins expelling its larvae
it continues to do so for some time, thus Microciona coccinea releases 4 or 5 larvae per minute for 3 to 4
days.
Sponges also reproduce asexually by releasing fragments of themselves, or special groups of cells
called gemmules. These gemmules, at least in freshwater species such as Ephydatia fluviatilis have
protective coat of spongin and have particular environmental conditions they need to have met before they
germinate.
Classification of Phylum Porifera
Calcareous sponge
The calcareous sponges of class Calcarea are members of the animal phylum Porifera, the cellular
sponges. They are characterized by spicules made out of calcium carbonate in the form of calcite or
aragonite. While the spicules in most species have three points, in some species they have either two or four
points.
All three sponge body plans are represented within class Calcarea : asconoid, syconoid, and
leuconoid. Typically, calcareous sponges are small, measuring less than 10 centimetres (3.9 in) in height, and
drab in colour. However, a few brightly coloured species are also known.
Calcareous sponges vary from radial symmetrical vase-shaped body types to colonies made up of a
meshwork of thin tubes, or irregular massive forms. The skeleton has either a mesh or honeycomb structure.

Example:
Scypha, also called sycon, genus of marine sponges of the class
Calcarea (calcareous sponges), characterized by a fingerlike body shape
known as the syconoid type of structure. In the syconoid sponges, each
“finger,” known as a radial canal, is perforated by many tiny pores
through which water passes into a single central cavity. The water exits
through an oscule, or larger opening, at the tip. Water is driven through
the sponge by the beating of many hairlike cilia lining the central
cavity. Scypha species grow to only about 2 or 3 cm (about 1 inch) in
length.

Class Demospongiae
The Demospongiae are the largest class in the phylum Porifera. Their "skeletons" are made of
spicules consisting of fibers of the protein spongin, the mineral silica, or both. Where spicules of silica are
present, they have a different shape from those in the otherwise similar glass sponges.[1] The demosponges
include 90% of all species of sponges and are predominantly leuconoid in structure.
 There are many diverse orders in this class, including all of the large sponges. Most are marine
dwellers, but several live in freshwater environments. Some species are brightly colored, and there is great
variety in body shape; the largest species are over 1 metre (3.3 ft) across.[1] They reproduce both sexually
and asexually.
Example:
Cliona celata, occasionally called the Red Boring Sponge, is a
species of demosponge belongs to the family Clionaidae. It is found
worldwide. This sponge creates round holes up to 5 cm in diameter in
limestone or the shells of mollusks, especially oysters. The sponge itself is
often visible as a rather featureless yellow or orange lump at the bottom of
the hole.
These sponges are common in Southern New England and in
Narragansett Bay. They also live in the Bahamas, and the western Atlantic
Ocean. They usually live in lagoons or on reefs. They will sometimes make
their home on dead mollusks or other shelled creatures.
Red Boring Sponges can reproduce asexually and sexually. They can
simply separate by mitosis, as single cells do, or they can release sperm into the water in hopes of them
finding a female's eggs. They may also attach their larvae onto mollusks like clams and mussels. This usually
results in the death of the host. They then will begin to grow and colonize.
Class Hexactinellida
These are deep-sea sponges. They lack an epidermal covering, and their skeletons are composed of
spicules of silica. The spicules, which often form a latticework, have six points or some multiple thereof.
Glass sponges are pale in color and are cup- or basket-shaped. The spongocoel is large, and the osculum is
covered by a grillwork of fused spicules. When the living tissue is removed, the cylindrical skeletons often
have the appearance of spun glass. The glass sponge known as Venus's-flower-basket (Euplectella) supplies
a home for certain shrimps that become trapped by the lattice of spicules. The body plan of Hexactinellida is
between syconoid and leuconoid.
Example:
The Venus' Flower Basket, or Euplectella aspergillum, like
other Hexactenellida in the phylum Porifera is not used alive in
hobbyists' aquariums. This is because Hexactinellid sponges are mainly
deep ocean sponges that are not yet suitable for domestic aquarium
environments. In traditional Asian cultures, this particular sponge (in a
dead, dry state) was given as a wedding gift because the sponge
symbiotically houses two small shrimp, a male and a female, who live
out their lives inside the sponge. They breed, and when their offspring
are tiny, the offspring escape to find a Venus Flower Basket of their own.
The shrimp inside of the basket clean it, and in return, the basket
provides food for the shrimp by trapping it in its fiberglass-like strands,
and then releasing it into the body of the sponge for the shrimp. It is also
speculated that the bioluminescent light of bacteria harnessed by the
sponge may attract other small organisms which the shrimp eat.

Phylum Coelenterata
* Radically symmetrical, diploblastic multicellular animals with a tissue grade of organization.
* Aquatic, freshwater or marine solitary or colonial forms which may be freed swimming or sedentary.
* Body has a mouth at the oral end which leads into a spacious cavity called gastro vascular cavity or
coelenterons.
* Presence of long, hollow structures called tentacles used for locomotion and food capturing.
* Presence of peculiar type of cells called cnidoblasts, nematocysts or stinging cells in the ectoderm,
especially in the tentacles, used for offence and defense.
 * Digestion is both intracellular and extracellular.
* Respiration and excretion by simple diffusion.
* Presence of a network of nerves spread all over the body.
* Many forms exhibit polymorphism, wherein different types of individuals are present in a colony for
different functions. These individuals are called Zooids.
* Reproduction asexually (external budding) or sexually (formation of gametes).
Cnidaria or Coelenterata , phylum of invertebrate animals comprising the sea anemones sea
anemone , any of the relatively large, predominantly solitary polyps (see polyp and medusa) of the class
Anthozoa, phylum Cnidaria. Unlike the closely related corals, these organisms do not have a skeleton.
Coral, small, sedentary marine animal, related to the sea anemone but characterized by a skeleton of
horny or calcareous material. The skeleton itself is also called coral.Jellyfish, common name for the free-
swimming stage of certain invertebrate animals of the phylum Cnidaria (the coelenterates). The body of a
jellyfish is shaped like a bell or umbrella, with a clear, jellylike material filling most of the, and hydroids.
Cnidarians are radial symmetrical between parts of an organism so that when a straight cut is made through a
point or along a line, equal, mirror-image halves are formed. Symmetry in body shapes is related to the
lifestyles of organisms. The mouth, located at the center of one end of the body, opens into a gastro vascular
cavity, which is used for digestion and distribution of food; an anus is lacking. Cnidarians are further
characterized by having a body wall composed of three layers: an outer epidermis, an inner gastro dermis,
and a middle mesogloea. Tentacles encircle the mouth and are used in part for food capture. Specialized
stinging structures, called nematocysts, are a characteristic of the phylum and are borne in the tentacles and
often in other body parts. These contain a coiled fiber that can be extruded suddenly. Some nematocysts
contain toxic substances and are defense mechanisms, while others are adhesive, helping to anchor the
animal or to entangle prey.
Two body forms and two lifestyles are characteristic of the Cnidaria polyp and medusa, names for the
two body forms, one nonmotile and one typically free swimming, found in the aquatic invertebrate phylum
Cnidaria (the coelenterates).The sessile hydroid, or polyp, form is more or less cylindrical, attached to its
substratum at its arboral (opposite the mouth) end, with the mouth and surrounding tentacles at the upper,
oral, free end. Colonies of hydroids comprise several different types of individuals: some function in feeding,
some in defense, and some in reproduction. The motile jellyfish, or medusoid form, is flattened, with the
tentacles usually located at the body margin. The medusoid's convex aboral surface is oriented upward, and
the concave oral surface is oriented downward.
With few exceptions, the cnidarians are marine. There are over 9,000 known living species; fossil
records of cnidarians date back to the Ordovician era. Cnidarians are carnivorous, the major part of their diet
consisting of crustaceans. Animals in this phylum have no specialized excretory or respiratory organs but do
have a nervous system. Both sexual and asexual reproduction occur. There are three classes of cnidarians.
Class Hydrozoa
The Hydrozoa include solitary or colonial cnidarians, which have a noncellular mesoglea, lack
tentacles within the gastrovascular cavity, and have no gullet. As a rule, the hydroid stage predominates in
the life cycle, although in some the jellyfish stage is larger. The order Hydroida includes the many small,
colonial hydroids so often seen clinging to wharves and submerged objects along the seacoasts everywhere,
economically important because they foul surfaces. The order also includes solitary hydroids, some reaching
several inches in height. One, in the genus Branchiocerianthus, is said to reach 8 or 9 ft (244–274.5 cm) in
length. The common freshwater genus Hydra also belongs to this order, as does the freshwater jellyfish,
genus Craspedacusta, and the commonly studied hydroid jellyfish, genus Gonionemus. There are also
pelagic hydroid colonies, unusual in having one very large hydroid member, which lives with its mouth
downward and its aboral surface upward, like a jellyfish. The aboral end is equipped with a projecting sail.
Velella, the purple sailor, is an example. The order Milleporina includes colonial organisms that form a
massive, porous exoskeleton, somewhat resembling corals. They are sometimes abundant in tropical seas and
may contribute to coral reef formation. The order Siphonophora includes often large, floating colonies made
up of members of varying form and function. Typical is Physalia, the Portuguese man-of-war. Its colorful
float is a gas-filled member of the colony and attains lengths up to 1 ft (30 cm). Other members of the colony
hang downward from the lower surface of the float; some of these have very powerful nematocysts able to
cause severe physiological reaction in swimmers coming in contact with them. These organisms are able to
kill sizable fish with their tentacles.

Example:
Hydra is a genus of simple fresh-water animal
possessing radial symmetry. Hydras are predatory animals
belonging to the phylum Cnidaria and the class Hydrozoa.[1][2]
They can be found in most unpolluted fresh-water ponds, lakes,
and streams in the temperate and tropical regions and can be
found by gently sweeping a collecting net through weedy areas.
They are usually a few millimetres long and are best studied
with a microscope. Biologists are especially interested in hydras
due to their regenerative ability; and that they appear not to age
or die of old age. However, there is not scientific unanimity yet
on whether Hydra undergo senescence.

Class Scyphozoa
Cnidarians of class Scyphozoa have a predominant jellyfish stage. They are characterized by a
cellular mesoglea and tentacles in their gastro vascular cavity. All of the largest jellyfish belong to this class.
The common Aurelia aurita is seen in bays and harbors, sometimes in large numbers. It is pallid, unlike some
of the more colorful species in the genus Cyanea. Stalked jellyfish, the Stauromedusae, are unusual
members of the Scyphozoa; they are found attached to seaweed, especially in cooler marine habitats. The
order Rhizostomea includes jellyfish in which the original mouth has closed, and which have many
subsidiary mouths found in frilled oral arms. Cassiopaeia is a well-known example, living in warmer,
shallow waters, where it is often found lying on the bottom upside down, exposing its green algal symbionts
to the sun.

Example:
Scyphozoa jellyfish is one type of jellyfish from a wide range
of its kind. They are also called scyphomedusae and true jellyfish.
There are over 200 species of Scyphozoa jellyfish and other than
them there are other type of jellyfish that are identified as Staurozoa,
Hydrozoa and Cubozoa. Jellyfish are also known as medusa. The
name Scyphozoa has been taken from skyphos which is a Greek
word. It denotes a type of cup identical with the forms of Scyphozoa
jellyfish.

They belong to the class Phylum cnidaria and they are said to have
links with Ediacaran period, which geologically is the last period of
the Neoproterozoic era and related to Ediacara hills of Southern Australia thus giving the name for this
particular period, 'Edicaran'. Medusae are the most advanced form of Scyphozoan's life cycle, and they feed
on various types of crustaceans as well as on fish. They use their venomous cells identified as nematocysts to
get their prey.
Class Anthozoa
Class Anthozoa includes Cnidaria that have no jellyfish stage. This is the largest class of cnidarians,
containing over 6,000 species. A gullet extends for a short distance into the gastrovascular cavity, and septa
are present, which increase the surface for digestion and absorption. Anthozoa are flower animals, including
a great many beautiful and colorful organisms, e.g., the sea anemone, sea pansy sea pansy, fleshy, leaf-
shaped colony of marine organisms belonging to the genus Renilla in the same phylum as the jellyfish. The
colony consists of a stalk formed by a large organism called a primary polyp (see polyp and medusa) that is
thrust into soft.

Example:
A sea anemone is a polyp attached at the bottom to the
surface beneath it by an adhesive foot, called a basal disc, with a
column shaped body ending in an oral disc. Most are from 1.8 to
3 centimeters (0.71 to 1.2 in) in diameter, but anemones as small
as 4 millimeters (0.16 in) or as large as nearly 2 meters (6.6 ft) are
known. They can have anything from a few tens of tentacles to a
few hundreds.
A few species are pelagic, and are not attached to the
bottom; instead they have a gas chamber within the pedal disc,
allowing them to float upside down in the water.
The mouth is in the middle of the oral disc surrounded by
tentacles armed with many cnidocytes, which are cells that
function as a defense and as a means to capture prey. Cnidocytes
contain nematocyst, capsule-like organelles capable of averting, giving phylum Cnidaria its name. The
cnidae that sting are called nematocysts. Each nematocyst contains a small vesicle filled with toxins
(actinoporins), an inner filament, and an external sensory hair. When the hair is touched it mechanically
triggers the cell explosion, a harpoon-like structure which attaches to organisms that trigger it, and injects a
dose of poison in the flesh of the aggressor or prey. This gives the anemone its characteristic sticky feeling.
The sea anemone eats small fish and shrimp.

Phylum Platyhelminthes
Platyhelminthes are bilaterally symmetrical animals, in other words their left and right sides are
mirror images of each other; this also implies that they have distinct top and bottom surfaces and distinct
head and tail ends. Like other bilaterians they have three main cell layers, while the radially symmetrical
cnidarians and ctenophores "(comb jellies)" have only two cell layers. Beyond that, they are "defined more
by what they do not have than by any particular series of bodily specializations." Unlike other bilaterians,
platyhelminthes have no internal body cavity and are therefore described as acoelomates. They also lack
specialized circulatory and respiratory organs. Their bodies are soft and unsegmented.
The lack of circulatory and respiratory organs limits platyhelminths to sizes and shapes that enable
oxygen to reach and carbon dioxide to leave all parts of their bodies by simple diffusion. Hence many are
microscopic and the large species have flat ribbon-like or leaf-like shapes. The guts of large species have
many branches, so that nutrients can diffuse to all parts of the body. Respiration through the whole surface of
the body makes platyhelminthes vulnerable to fluid loss, and restricts them to environments where
dehydration is unlikely: sea and freshwater; moist terrestrial environments such as leaf litter or between
grains of soil; and as parasites within other animals.
The space between the skin and gut is filled with mesenchyme, a connective tissue that is made of
cells and reinforced by collagen fibers that act as a type of skeleton, providing attachment points for muscles.
The mesenchyme contains all the internal organs and allows the passage of oxygen, nutrients and waste
products. It consists of two main types of cell: fixed cells, some of which have fluid-filled vacuoles; and
stem cells, which can transform into any other type of cell, and are used in regenerating tissues after injury or
asexual reproduction.

Most platyhelminths have no anus and regurgitate undigested material through the mouth. However, some
long species have an anus and some with complex branched guts have more than one anus, since excretion
only through the mouth would be difficult for them. The gut is lined with a single layer of endodermal cells
which absorb and digest food. Some species break up and soften food first by secreting enzymes in the gut or
pharynx (throat).

Classification of Phylum Platyhelminthes

Class Turbellaria
These have about 4,500 species, are mostly free-living, and range from 1 mm (0.039 in) to 600 mm
(24 in) in length. Most are predators or scavengers, and terrestrial species are mostly nocturnal and live in
shaded humid locations such as leaf litter or rotting wood. However, some are symbiotes of other animals
such as crustaceans, and some are parasites. Free-living turbellarians are mostly black, brown or gray, but
some larger ones are brightly colored.The Acoela and Nemertodermatida were traditionally regarded as
turbellarians,, but are now regarded as members of a separate phylum, the Acoelomorpha, or as two separate
phyla. Xenoturbella, a genus of very simple animals, has also been re-classified as a separate phylum.
Turbellarians have no cuticle (external layer of organic but non-cellular material). In a few species
the skin is a syncitium, a collection of cells with multiple nuclei and a single shared external membrane.
However the skins of most species consist of a single layer of cells, each of which generally has multiple
cilia (small mobile "hairs"), although in some large species the upper surface has no cilia. These skins are
also covered with microvilli between the cilia. They have many glands, usually submerged in the muscle
layers below the skin and connect to the surface by pores through which they secrete mucus, adhesives and
other substances.
Small aquatic species use the cilia for locomotion, while larger ones use muscular movements of the
whole body or of a specialized sole to creep or swim. Some are capable of burrowing; anchoring their rear
ends at the bottom of the burrow and then stretching the head up to feed and then pulling it back down for
safety. Some terrestrial species throw a thread of mucus which they use as a rope to climb from one leaf to
another.
Example:
Planaria are non-parasitic flatworms of the biological family
Planariidae, belonging to the order Seriata. Planaria are common to
many parts of the world, living in both saltwater and freshwater
ponds and rivers. Some species are terrestrial and are found under
logs, in or on the soil, and on plants in humid areas.
These animals move by beating cilia on the ventral dermis,
allowing them to glide along on a film of mucus. Some move by
undulations of the whole body by the contractions of muscles built
into the body membrane.
They exhibit an extraordinary ability to regenerate lost body
parts. For example, a planarian split lengthwise or crosswise will regenerate into two separate individuals.
Planarians' length ranges from 1 to 20 millimetres (0.04 to 0.8 in),[1] and the body has two eye-spots (also
known as ocelli) that can detect the intensity of light. The eye-spots act as photoreceptors and are used to
move away from light sources. Planaria have three germ layers (ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm), and
are acoelomate (i.e. they have a very solid body with no body cavity). They have a single-opening digestive
tract, consisting of one anterior branch and two posterior branches in freshwater planarians. Because of this
three-branched organization, freshwater flatworms are often referred to as triclad planarians. The planarian
has very simple organ systems. The digestive system consists of a mouth, pharynx, and a structure called a
gastrovascular cavity. The mouth is located in the center of the underside of the body. Digestive enzymes are
secreted from the mouth to begin external digestion. The pharynx connects the mouth to the gastrovascular
cavity. This structure branches throughout the body allowing nutrients from food to reach all extremities.[3]
Planaria eat living or dead small animals that they suck with their muscular mouths. Food passes from the
mouth through the pharynx into the intestines where it is digested, and its nutrients then diffuse to the rest of
the body.
Planaria receive oxygen and release carbon dioxide by diffusion. The excretory system is made of
many tubes with many flame cells and excretory pores on them. Flame cells remove unwanted liquids from
the body by passing them through ducts that lead to excretory pores where waste is released on the dorsal
surface of the planarian.
At the head of the planarian there is a ganglion under the eyespots. From the ganglion there are two
nerve cords which connect at the tail. Also, below the eyespots, there is a dual lobed mass of nerve tissue, its
brain. There are many transverse nerves connected to the nerve cords extending from the brain, which makes
the nerve system look like a ladder. With a ladder-like nerve system, it is able to respond in a coordinated
manner. The planarian has a soft, flat, wedge-shaped body that may be black, brown, gray, or white and is
about a half inch (1.3 cm) long. The blunt, triangular head has two ocelli (eyespots), pigmented areas that are
sensitive to light. There are two auricles (earlike projections) at the base of the head, which are sensitive to
touch and the presence of certain chemicals. The mouth is located in the middle of the underside of the body,
which is covered with cilia (hairlike projections). There are no circulatory or respiratory systems; oxygen
entering and carbon dioxide leaving the planarian's body diffuses through the body wall.
Class Trematoda
These parasites' name refers to the cavity in their holdfasts (Greek τρῆμα, hole), which resemble
suckers and anchor them within their hosts. The skin of all species is a syncitium, a layer of cells that shares
a single external membrane. Trematodes are divided into two groups, Digenea and Aspidogastrea (also
known as Aspodibothrea).
Trematodes are flattened oval or worm-like animals, usually no more than a few centimetres in
length, although species as small as 1 millimetre (0.039 in) and as large as 7 metres (23 ft) are known. Their
most distinctive external feature is the presence of two suckers, one close to the mouth, and the other on the
underside of the animal.
The body surface of trematodes comprises a tough syncitial tegument, which helps protect against
digestive enzymes in those species that inhabit the gut of larger animals. It is also the surface of gas
exchange; there are no respiratory organs.
The mouth is located at the forward end of the animal, and opens into a muscular, pumping pharynx.
The pharynx connects, via a short oesophagus, to one or two blind-ending caeca, which occupy most of the
length of the body. In some species, the caeca are themselves branched. As in other flatworms, there is no
anus, and waste material must be egested through the mouth.
Although the excretion of nitrogenous waste occurs mostly through the tegument, trematodes do
possess an excretory system, which is instead mainly concerned with osmoregulation. This consists of two or
more protonephridia, with those on each side of the body opening into a collecting duct. The two collecting
ducts typically meet up at a single bladder, opening to the exterior through one or two pores near the
posterior end of the animal.
The brain consists of a pair of ganglia in the head region, from which two or three pairs of nerve
cords run down the length of the body. The nerve cords running along the ventral surface are always the
largest, while the dorsal cords are present only in the Aspidogastrea. Trematodes generally lack any
specialised sense organs, although some ectoparasitic species do possess one or two pairs of simple ocelli.
Example:
Commonly known as flukes, there are over 6,000 species of
flatworm in this class. Descended from the parasitic flatworm, flukes
grow slightly larger, to about 0.8-1.2 in (2-3 cm) long. A fluke must live
in two or more hosts during its lifetime because its developmental needs
are different than its adult needs. The first host is usually a mollusk and
the final host-which houses the fluke during its mature, sexual stage-is
invariably a vertebrate, sometimes a human. In general, flukes lay tens of
thousands of eggs to increase their offspring's chances of survival.
Three families in this class contain blood flukes, those that live in
the bloodstream of their hosts. Blood flukes, called schistosomes, are of
particular importance to humans, since an estimated 200 million people are affected by them. Second only to
malaria among human parasites, they usually do not kill their victims immediately; rather, they make their
hosts uncomfortable for years until a secondary illness kills them.
 As larvae, some species inhabit snails but, upon destroying their hosts' livers, leave and swim freely
for several days. They are then absorbed through the skin of a second host, such as a human, and live in
veins near the stomach. There they mature and can live for 20 years or more. Unlike other species in the
phylum, blood flukes have clearly defined genders.
Class Cestoda
These are often called tapeworms because of their flat, slender but very long bodies – the name
"cestode" is derived from the Latin word cestus, which means "tape". The adults of all 3,400 cestode species
are internal parasites in the organs of vertebrates, including fish, cats, dogs and humans. The head is
generally tiny compared to the size of the whole animal, and forms a scolex that attaches the parasite to the
lining of the host's gut. The commonest type of scolex has four suckers round the sides and a disk equipped
with hooks at the end. However, some species have more complex arrangements, for example
Myzophyllobothrium's scolex looks rather like a part-peeled banana, with four sucker-like flaps on the sides
and a group of four small suckers on short stalks at the end.
Cestodes have no mouths or guts, and the syncitial skin absorbs nutrients – mainly carbohydrates and
amino acids – from the host, and also disguises it chemically to avoid attacks by the host's immune
system.Shortage of carbohydrates in the host's diet stunts the growth of the parasites and kills some. Their
metabolisms generally use simple but inefficient chemical processes, and the parasites compensate by
consuming large amounts of food relative to their size.

Example:
Taenia solium, also called the pork tapeworm, is a cyclophyllid
cestode in the family Taeniidae. It infects pigs and humans in
Asia, Africa, and South America, parts of Southern Europe and
pockets of North America. Like all cyclophyllid cestodes, T.
solium has four suckers on its scolex ("head"). T. solium also has
two rows of hooks.

Economic Importance of Phylum Platyhelminthes

Platyhelminthes are of particular economic interest because many species of flukes are parasitic in
man, in domestic animals, or in both. In Europe and in North and South America, tapeworm infestations of
man have been greatly reduced as a consequence of routine meat inspection. But where sanitation is poor and
meat eaten undercooked, the incidence of tapeworm infestations is high. In the Baltic countries much of the
population is infested with the broad tapeworm (Diphyllobothrium latum); in parts of the southern United
States a small proportion of the population may be infested with the dwarf tapeworm (Hymenolepis nana). In
Europe and the United States the beef tapeworm (Taenia saginata) is not uncommon due to the habit of
eating undercooked steaks or other beef products.
Parasites in immature stages (larvae) can cause serious damage to the host. A larval stage of the gid parasite
of sheep (Multiceps multiceps) usually lodges in the sheep brain. Fluid-filled hydatid cysts (i.e., sacs
containing many cells capable of developing into new individuals) of Echinococcus may occur almost
anywhere in the body of sheep. Hydatids of the liver, brain, or lung of man are often fatal. Infestation occurs
only where man lives in close association with dogs that have access to infested sheep for food.
Thirty-six or more species of flukes have been reported as parasitic in humans. Endemic (local)
centres of infection occur in virtually all countries; widespread infections occur in the Far East, Africa, and
tropical America. Many species are ingested as cysts, called metacercariae, in uncooked food--e.g., the lung
fluke Paragonimus westermani found in crayfish and crabs, the intestinal flukes Heterophyes heterophyes
and Metagonimus yokogawai and the liver fluke Opisthorchis sinensis in fish, and the intestinal fluke
Fasciolopsis buski on plants. Free-swimming larvae (cercariae) of blood flukes penetrate the human skin
directly. In man these parasites and others listed below cause much misery and death. Control of certain
flukes through the eradication of their mollusk hosts has been attempted but without much success.
Schistosomiasis (bilharziasis) is a major human disease caused by three species of the genus
Schistosoma, known collectively as blood flukes. Africa and western Asia (e.g., Iran, Iraq) are endemic
centres for S. haematobium; S. mansoni also is found in these areas, as well as in the West Indies and South
America. In the Far East, S. japonicum is the important blood fluke.
Among domestic animals, the sheep liver fluke (Fasciola hepatica) may cause debilitating and fatal
epidemics (liver rot) in sheep. These animals become infected by eating metacercariae encysted on grass.
Monogenea are common pests on fish in hatcheries and home aquariums.
Phylum Nemathelmintes
The nematodes (pronounced /ˈnɛmətoʊdz/) or roundworms (phylum Nematoda) are the most diverse
phylum of pseudocoelomates, and one of the most diverse of all animals. Nematode species are very difficult
to distinguish; over 28,000 have been described,[1] of which over 16,000 are parasitic. It has been estimated
that the total number of nematode species might be approximately 1,000,000.[2] Unlike cnidarians or
flatworms, roundworms have a digestive system that is like a tube with openings at both ends.
Nematodes are slender, worm-like animals, typically less than 2.5 millimetres (0.10 in) long. The
smallest nematodes are microscopic, while free-living species can reach as much as 5 centimetres (2.0 in)
and some parasitic species are larger still. The body is often ornamented with ridges, rings, warts, bristles or
other distinctive structures.
The head of a nematode is relatively distinctive. Whereas the rest of the body is bilaterally
symmetrical, the head is radially symmetrical, with sensory bristles and, in many cases, solid head-shields
radiating outwards around the mouth. The mouth has either three or six lips, which often bear a series of
teeth on their inner edge. An adhesive caudal gland is often found at the tip of the tail.[14]
The epidermis is either a syncytium or a single layer of cells, and is covered by a thick collagenous
cuticle. The cuticle is often of complex structure, and may have two or three distinct layers. Underneath the
epidermis lies a layer of muscle cells. Projections run from the inner surface of these cells towards the nerve
cords; this is a unique arrangement in the animal kingdom, in which nerve cells normally extend fibres into
the muscles rather than vice versa.
The muscle layer surrounds the body cavity, which is filled with a fluid that lacks any form of blood
cells. The gut runs down the centre of the cavity.
Digestive system
The oral cavity is lined with cuticle, which is often strengthened with ridges or other structures, and,
especially in carnivorous species, may bear a number of teeth. The mouth often includes a sharp stylet which
the animal can thrust into its prey. In some species, the stylet is hollow, and can be used to suck liquids from
plants or animals.
The oral cavity opens into a muscular sucking pharynx, also lined with cuticle. Digestive glands are
found in this region of the gut, producing enzymes that start to break down the food. In stylet-bearing
species, these may even be injected into the prey.
There is no stomach, with the pharynx connecting directly to the intestine that forms the main length
of the gut. This produces further enzymes, and also absorbs nutrients through its lining. The last portion of
the intestine is lined by cuticle, forming a rectum which expels waste through the anus just below and in
front of the tip of the tail. The intestine also has valves or sphincters at either end to help control the
movement of food through the body.
Excretory system
Nitrogenous waste is excreted in the form of ammonia through the body wall, and is not associated
with any specific organs. However, the structures for excreting salt to maintain osmoregulation are typically
more complex.
In many marine nematodes, there are one or two unicellular renette glands that excrete salt through a
pore on the underside of the animal, close to the pharynx. In most other nematodes, these specialised cells
have been replaced by an organ consisting of two parallel ducts connected by a single transverse duct. This
transverse duct opens into a common canal that runs to the excretory pore.[14]
Nervous system
Four nerves run the length of the body on the dorsal, ventral, and lateral surfaces. Each nerve lies
within a cord of connective tissue lying beneath the cuticle and between the muscle cells. The ventral nerve
is the largest, and has a double structure forward of the excretory pore. The dorsal nerve is responsible for
motor control, while the lateral nerves are sensory, and the ventral combines both functions.[14]
At the anterior end of the animal, the nerves branch from a dense circular nerve ring surrounding the
pharynx, and serving as the brain. Smaller nerves run forward from the ring to supply the sensory organs of
the head.]The body of nematodes is covered in numerous sensory bristles and papillae that together provide a
sense of touch. Behind the sensory bristles on the head lie two small pits, or amphids. These are well
supplied with nerve cells, and are probably chemoreception organs. A few aquatic nematodes possess what
appear to be pigmented eye-spots, but is unclear whether or not these are actually sensory in nature.[14]
Reproduction
Most nematode species are dioecious, with separate male and female individuals. Both sexes possess
one or two tubular gonads. In males, the sperm are produced at the end of the gonad, and migrate along its
length as they mature. The testes each open into a relatively wide sperm duct and then into a glandular and
muscular ejaculatory duct associated with the cloaca. In females, the ovaries each open into an oviduct and
then a glandular uterus. The uteri both open into a common vagina, usually located in the middle of the
ventral surface.
Reproduction is usually sexual. Males are usually smaller than females (often much smaller) and
often have a characteristically bent tail for holding the female for copulation. During copulation, one or more
chitinized spicules move out of the cloaca and are inserted into genital pore of the female. Amoeboid sperm
crawl along the spicule into the female worm. Nematode sperm is thought to be the only eukaryotic cell
without the globular protein G-actin.
Eggs may be embryonated or unembryonated when passed by the female, meaning that their
fertilized eggs may not yet be developed. A few species are known to be ovoviviparous. The eggs are
protected by an outer shell, secreted by the uterus. In free-living roundworms, the eggs hatch into larvae,
which appear essentially identical to the adults, except for an under-developed reproductive system; in
parasitic roundworms, the life cycle is often much more complicated.
Nematodes as a whole possess a wide range of modes of reproduction. Some nematodes, such as
Heterorhabditis spp., undergo a process called endotokia matricida: intrauterine birth causing maternal death.
[16] Some nematodes are hermaphroditic, and keep their self-fertilized eggs inside the uterus until they
hatch. The juvenile nematodes will then ingest the parent nematode. This process is significantly promoted in
environments with a low or reducing food supply.

The nematode model species Caenorhabditis elegans and C. briggsae exhibit androdioecy, which is
very rare among animals. The single genus Meloidogyne (root-knot nematodes) exhibit a range of
reproductive modes including sexual reproduction, facultative sexuality (in which most, but not all,
generations reproduce asexually), and both meiotic and mitotic parthenogenesis.
The genus Mesorhabditis exhibits an unusual form of parthenogenesis, in which sperm-producing
males copulate with females, but the sperm do not fuse with the ovum. Contact with the sperm is essential
for the ovum to begin dividing, but because there is no fusion of the cells, the male contributes no genetic
material to the offspring, which are essentially clones of the female.
Class Adenophorea
Adenophorea or Aphasmidia was a class of nematodes (roundworms). It has been by and large
abandoned by modern taxonomy, because there is strong evidence for it being a motley paraphyletic group of
unrelated lineages of roundworms.

Characteristics supposed to distinguish Adenophorea are:

* amphids always post-labial, variable shape, pore-like to elaborate

* deirids are not seen
* phasmids are generally absent
* Hypodermal glands resent (excretory?) uninucleate
* Simple non-tubular excretory system when present
 * Three caudal glands commonly opening through a spinneret at the tail tip
* Male generally has two testes
* Caudal algae are rare
* Male with supplement glands in a single ventro-median row
* Sensory papillae in cephalic region and along the body
* Generally there are five esophageal glands
* Marine, freshwater, terrestrial
Example:
Pelodera (Rhabditis) strongyloides is a small
saprophytic nematode that lives in decaying organic matter.
On rare occasions, it can invade the mammalian skin,
causing a pruritic, erythematous, alopecic and crusting
dermatitis on skin sites that come into contact with the
ground. Diagnosis of the disease is based on case history (a
dog living outdoors on damp straw bedding) with
characteristic skin lesions and on the demonstration of
typical larvae in skin scrapings or biopsy. Pelodera
(rhabditic) dermatitis cases have been reported mainly from
Central European countries and the United States.

Economic Importance of Nemathelminthes

Nematodes are simple roundworms. Colorless, unsegmented, and lacking appendages, nematodes
may be free-living, predaceous, or parasitic. Many of the parasitic species cause important diseases of plants,
animals, and humans. Other species are beneficial in attacking insect pests, mostly sterilizing or otherwise
debilitating their hosts. A very few cause insect death but these species tend to be difficult (e.g.,
tetradomatids) or expensive (e.g. mermithids) to mass produce, have narrow host specificity against pests of
minor economic importance, possess modest virulence (e.g., sphaeruliids) or are otherwise poorly suited to
exploit for pest control purposes. The only insect-parasitic nematodes possessing an optimal balance of
biological control attributes are entomopathogenic or insecticidal nematodes in the genera Steinernema and
Heterorhabditis. These multi-cellular metazoans occupy a biocontrol middle ground between microbial
pathogens and predators/parasitoids, and are invariably lumped with pathogens, presumably because of their
symbiotic relationship with bacteria.

Phylum Annelida
Etymology:- From the Latin Annellus a little ring.
Characteristics of Annelida:-
1) Bilaterally symmetrical and vermiform.
2) Body has more than two cell layers, tissues and organs.
3) Body cavity is a true coelom, often divided by internal septa.
4) Body possesses a through gut with mouth and anus.
5) Body possesses 3 separate sections, a prosomium, a trunk and a pygidium.
6) Has a nervous system with an anterior nerve ring, ganglia and a ventral nerve chord.
7) Has a true closed circulatory system.
8) Has no true respiratory organs.
9) Reproduction normally sexual and gonochoristic or hermaphoditic.
10) Feed a wide range of material.
11) Live in most environments.

The Annelida are a medium sized phylum of more than 9,000 species of worms. Most species prefer
aquatic environments, but there are also a number of well know terrestrial species. Only a few species of
annelids are commonly known to human beings, these include the delightful Rain, Dew or Earthworms that
work so hard to make our soils healthy, the Ragworms and Lugworms used by marine fishermen and the
much smaller Tubifex or Red worms used by aquarists to feed their fish. In many countries people are still
familiar with Medicinal leeches, and people who live closer to nature are naturally more familiar with a
much wider range of Annelids than those who live in cities.
Despite the amazing and delicate beauty of polychaetes such as the Fan Worms, and the huge (really
beyond estimation) economic debt owed by mankind to the Oligochaete Earthworms for their work in soil
creation and maintenance many people still fail to appreciate their true wonder and beauty.
The earthworms, of which there are many species, are exceedingly important in soil creation,
particularly in temperate areas. Without them, agriculture and perhaps the whole of human society as we
know it would never have evolved. Like so much of the unnoticed invertebrate world earthworms are
essential to our very existence. In marine environments the numerous species of Polychaetes play a
fundamentally important role in the maintenance of food chains and the whole ecological balance of the seas,
thus supporting the seemingly endless stocks of fish we like to eat.
Annelids range in size from the Giant Earthworms, of which Michrochaetus rappi (Michrochaetus
michrochaetus) is the largest, this magnificent animal has an average length of 1.36 m (54 ins) and a record
breaking specimen has been recorded that measured 6.7 metres (22 ft) in length, it was 2cm (0.8 ins) in
diametre. Larger worms have been reported but not scientifically proven. The smallest Annelid known to
science is Chaetogaster annandalai which is full grown at 0.5 mm (0.02 ins).
Annelids have two main modes of existence, they either live rather quietly in holes or they live more
active lives. The basic Annelid body plan is one of a head followed by a long thin body of numerous similar
segments ending in a small tail. The head consists of a mouth (prostomium) and sometimes a peristomium,
and the tail is more correctly called a pygidium, as it is not really a tail. Annelids are coelomate animals
meaning they have a true coelom within their body. They have sets chaetae attached to each body segment,
and these can be simple and small as in the Earthworms or complex and varied as in many Polychaetes. The
head is often reduced and difficult to distinguish in the hole living species, but may be easily recognised,
with eyes and other sensory devices in those species living a more active life.
Annelids are coelomate animals (meaning they have a true coelom, even if this is reduced
secondarily). They normally have long thin bodies composed of a series of identical segments. These
segments lie between the head, comprised of a prostomium, a mouth and sometimes a peristomium, and a
tail called a pygidium. Growth occurs both laterally, by enlargement of the segments during the juvenile
stages, and through the addition of new segments. New segments are produced by the foremost section of the
pygidium. In some species they are produced throughout the animals life but in many species production
stops once a certain set number of segments has been achieved.
The Phylum Annelida is divided into 3 classes, one of which the Clitellata could really be called a
Superclass, it contains three subclasses, the Oligochaeta, the Branchiobdella and the Hirundinea. The other
two classes are the Polychaeta which contains the largest number of species and the Aelosomatida which
contains very few.
Class Polychaeta
The class Polychaeta (Poly = many, Chaeta = bristle) are the most diverse and most species group of
the Annelida containing over 5,500 species. They are predominantly marine animals and are divided
ecologically into the Errantia and the Sedentaria depending on whether or not they live sedentary lives in
holes or live more active lives. We now know that this is not a taxonomically valid classification but it is
useful as it divides the class in two in terms of the number of families each group contains. The Errantia have
well developed heads and complex parapodia (paddles) that they can use for swimming. They are often
dorsoventrally flattened.
Most polychaetes are gonochoristic (meaning they are either male or female), however some are
sequential hermaphrodites (meaning they are one sex first and then change to being the other sex).
Reproduction is often accompanied by the production of special modified reproductive segments which may,
or may not, become independent of the parent worm before mating. These segments are destroyed or die
during or immediately after they have released their gametes (sperm and ova).
 Example:
Giant tube worms, Riftia pachyptila, are marine invertebrates in the
phylum Annelida[1] (formerly grouped in phylum Pogonophora and
Vestimentifera) related to tube worms commonly found in the intertidal
and pelagic zones. Riftia pachyptila lives over a mile deep and up to
several miles deep on the floor of the Pacific Ocean near black smokers
and can tolerate extremely high hydrogen sulfide levels. They can reach a
length of 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in). To reproduce, Riftia pachyptila females
release lipid-rich eggs into the surrounding water so they start to float
upwards. The males then unleash sperm bundles that swim to meet the
eggs. After the eggs have hatched, the larvae swim down to attach
themselves to the rock.

Class Clitellata
Clitellata is a class of Annelid worms, characterized by having a clitellum - the 'collar' that forms a
reproductive cocoon during part of their life cycle. The clitellates comprise around 8,000 species. Unlike the
class of Polychaeta, they do not have parapodia and their heads are less developed.
All clitellata are hermaphrodites. During reproduction, the clitellum secretes a coat which hardens.
The worm then creeps out backward from the coat and deposits either fertilized zygotes or both ovae and
sperms into the coat, which is then packed into a cocoon. The zygotes then evolve further directly in the
cocoon without passing through a larva stadium (as opposed to other annelids, e.g. polychaeta.) This
mechanism is considered to be apomorphic (newer in evolution).Clitellata is a class of Annelid worms,
characterized by having a clitellum - the 'collar' that forms a reproductive cocoon during part of their life
cycle. The clitellates comprise around 8,000 species. Unlike the class of Polychaeta, they do not have
parapodia and their heads are less developed.
Example:
Leeches are annelids comprising the subclass
Hirudinea. There are freshwater, terrestrial, and marine
leeches. Like the Oligochaeta, they share the presence of a
clitellum. Like earthworms, leeches are hermaphrodites.
Some, but not all, leeches are hematophagous.
The European medical leech, Hirudo medicinalis, and
some congeners, as well as some other species, have been
used for clinical bloodletting for thousands of years,
although most leeches do not feed on human blood, but
instead prey on small invertebrates, which they eat whole.
Haemophagic leeches attach to their hosts and remain there until they become full, at which point they fall
off to digest. A leech's body is composed of 34 segments. They all have an anterior (oral) sucker formed
from the first six segments of their body, which is used to connect to a host for feeding, and also release an
anesthetic to prevent the host from feeling the leech. They use a combination of mucus and suction (caused
by concentric muscles in those six segments) to stay attached and secrete an anti-clotting enzyme, hirudin,
into the host's blood stream.
Some species of leech will nurture their young, while providing food, transport, and protection,
which is unusual behavior amongst annelids.
Class Oligochaeta
Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta (which is either a class or
subclass depending on the author) in the phylum Annelida. In classical systems they were placed in the order
Opisthopora, on the basis of the male pores opening posterior to the female pores, even though the internal
male segments are anterior to the female. Theoretical cladistic studies have placed them instead in the
suborder Lumbricina of the order Haplotaxida, but this may again soon change. Folk names for the
earthworm include "dew-worm", "Rainworm", "night crawler" and "angleworm" (due to its use as fishing
bait). This is excellent fish bait for all anglers.
Earthworms are also called megadriles (or big worms), as opposed to the microdriles (or small
worms) in the family’s Tubificidae, Lumbriculidae, and Enchytraeidae, among others. The megadriles are
characterized by having a distinct clitellum (which is much more obvious than the single-layered one of the
microdriles) and a vascular system with true capillaries.
Example:
Eisenia fetida, known under various common names,
including redworms, brandling worms, tiger worms
and red wiggler worms, are a species of earthworm
adapted to decaying organic material. They thrive in
rotting vegetation, compost, and manure; they are
epigeal. They are rarely found in soil, instead like
Lumbricus rubellus they prefer conditions where
other worms cannot survive. They are used for
vermicomposting. They are native to Europe, but
have been introduced (both intentionally and
unintentionally) to every other continent except
Antarctica, occasionally threatening native species.

Economic Importance of Annelida

Crustaceans are of considerable economic importance to man. The group is of great value directly or
indirectly for his health and economic progress.

As food:
Man, consumes a large number of crustaceans especially the lobsters, shrimps, prawns, crabs and
crayfishes etc. They form an important diet for man with great nutritive value. The blue crab is held captive
until it molts, then sold in the soft-shelled condition, after removal of the viscera the whole animal is cooked
and eaten. Prawn fishery, which means capturing as well as culturing them, has advanced in many countries
including Pakistan.
Ecosystem food chain Component
The smaller species of crustaceans form the bulk of the zooplankton, which plays a vital role in the
food chains of both salt and freshwater fishes and other aquatic animals that eventually come to our table.
As Fish bait
In most parts of America, the crayfishes, especially the soft-shelled individuals, are quite popular
among fisherman as fish bait. Soft-shelled individuals are kept soft for a week so on ice since refrigeration
slows metabolism so that the shell develop slowly.
As scavenger
Some, crustacean, such a crayfish are beneficial, as they serve as an agency in the destruction of
decaying vegetables and animal bodies in water.
Phylum Mollusca
The mollusks constitute one of the largest phyla of animals, both in numbers of living species (at
least 47,000, and perhaps many more) and in numbers of individuals.
A significant characteristic of mollusks is their possession of a coelom, a fluid-filled cavity that
develops within the mesoderm. The coelom not only functions as a hydrostatic skeleton but also provides
space within which the internal organs can be suspended by the mesenteries.
All mollusks have a soft body (their name is derived from the Latin word mollus, meaning "soft"),
which is generally protected by a hard, calcium-
containing shell. In some forms however, the shell has been lost in the course of evolution, as in slugs and
octopuses, or greatly reduced in size and internalized, as in squids.
 Structurally, mollusks are quite distinct from all other animals. However, all modern mollusks have
the same fundamental body plan. There are three distinct body zones: a head-foot, which contains both the
sensory and motor organs; a visceral mass, which contains the well-developed organs of digestion, excretion,
and reproduction; and a mantle, a specialized tissue formed from folds of the dorsal body wall, that hangs
over and enfolds the visceral mass and that secretes the shell. The mantle cavity, a space between the mantle
and the visceral mass, houses the gills; the digestive, excretory, and reproductive systems discharge into it.
Mollusks are also characterized by a toothed tongue, the radula, composed primarily of chitin. The
radula serves both to scrape off algae and other food materials and also to convey them backward to the
digestive tract. In some species, it is also used in combat.
Digestion and Excretion
The digestive tract is complete and ciliated, with a mouth, anus and complex stomach. The pattern of
the stomach varies according to the mollusks diet. Food is taken up by cells lining the digestive glands
arising from the stomach, and then is passed into the blood. Undigested materials are compressed and
packaged, then discharged through the anus into the mantle cavity and are carried away from the animals in
the water currents. This packaging of wastes in solid form prevents fouling of the water passing over the
gills.
Excretory functions are carried out by a pair of nephridia, tubular structures that collect fluids from
the coelom and exchange salts and other substances with body tissues as the fluid passes along the tubules
for excretion. The nephridia empty into the mantle cavity.
Nervous System and Sensory Capability
Mollusks have a relatively complex nervous system, which varies from species to species reaching
the height of complexity at the octopus. The octopus is thought to be among the most intelligent of all
invertebrates, with a mental capacity likened to that of a domestic cat. Sensory ability in some mollusks
(notably the cephalopods) is considerable, with a variety of organ systems, as well as large, complex eyes.
The eyes of the giant squid are the largest in the animal kingdom, approaching the size of dinner plates. It
has recently been demonstrated that squid can successfully locate and capture transparent prey in the water
by means of a specialized polarization vision.
Respiration and Circulation
Excluding cephalopods, mollusks have an open circulatory system, meaning the blood does not
circulate entirely within vessels but is collected from the gills, pumped through the heart, and released
directly into spaces in the tissues from which it returns to the gills and then to the heart. Such a blood-filled
space is known as a hemocoel ("blood cavity"). In the mollusks, the hemocoel has largely replaced the
coelom, which is reduced to a small area around the heart and to the cavities of the organs of reproduction
and excretion. Cephalopods, whose vigorous activities require that the cells be supplied with large quantities
of oxygen and food molecules, have a closed circulatory system of continuous vessels and accessory hearts
that propel blood into the gills. The presence of discrete respiratory and circulatory systems has led to an
improved capacity for oxygen uptake and distribution, and hence an increase in body mass. Molluscans
include the largest and most advanced of living invertebrates with the cephalopods, including the monstrous
Giant Squid Architeuthis, which can reach a total length, including tentacles, of 18 meters.
Locomotion
Locomotion amongst the molluscans varies considerably, and is dictated by the structure of the foot.
Herbivorous forms are commonly gliders, moving on waves of muscular contraction. However, many
carnivorous forms have achieved more advanced forms of locomotion. Cephalopods swim actively by a type
of jet propulsion, in which water is rapidly expelled from the mantle cavity via the siphon. In the streamlined
squid this technique has enabled to animals to achieve the fastest speeds of any aquatic invertebrate. The
Cuttlefish and the Sea Hares rely upon undulating lateral fins for highly maneuverable locomotion. In the
bivalves the foot has developed into a tool for burrowing, which can be remarkably rapid for example in the
common Razor Shells.
Mollusks exhibit a tremendous diversity of form and behavior. The three major classes range from
largely sedentary or sessile filter-feeding animals, such as clams and oyster (class Bivalvia), through aquatic
and terrestrial snails and slugs (class Gastropoda), to the predatory cuttlefish, squids, and octopuses (class
Cephalopoda).
Classification Of Phylum Mollusca
Class Bivalvia
The approximately 7,500 living species of bivalves include such common animals as clams, oysters,
scallops, and mussels. They derive their name from the two parts, or valves, into which the shell is divided.
One or two large, well-developed adductor muscles (the edible part that so many people consider a delicacy)
are used to close the shell swiftly and tightly in times of danger. These muscles are so strong in scallops that
the animals can move swiftly through the water by clapping their shells together, thereby eluding predators
such as starfish.
Bivalves lack defined heads, although eyes may be present elsewhere on the body. They also have no
radula. A foot is present but laterally compressed. Bivalves generally have a large mantle cavity with gills.
The posterior edges of the mantle may be fused to form inhalant and exhalant siphons that circulate water to
and from the gill chamber.
Bivalves have an open circulatory system, poorly developed sense organs (with the exception of a
few kinds, which have well-developed eyes), and a fairly simple nervous system based around three sets of
paired ganglia.
Most bivalves are dioecious (have separate sexes; are not hermaphroditic) and fertilization can be
either internal or external, depending on the species. Freshwater clams differ in that their fertilization is
internal, with brooding taking place in the gill chamber. Specialized "brood pouches", in which the young
are protected during their early development, are found in hermaphroditic species as well as in the females of
some species with separate sexes.
The bivalves have sensory cells for discrimination of touch, chemical changes, and light. The scallop
has quite complex eyes; a single individual may have a hundred or more eyes located among the tentacles on
the fringe of the mantle. The lens of this eye cannot focus images, however, so it does not appear to serve
for more than the detection of light and dark, including passing shadows cast by other moving organisms.
Abundant in both salt and fresh water, most adult bivalves are sedentary, herbivorous filter feeders,
using currents set up by cilia on their gills to bring in food particles, usually microscopic algae. A few
bivalves, such as scallops, are able to move rapidly by clapping their valves together. Others are able to
move slowly by muscular action of their foot. Still others are completely sessile.
Example:
Placopecten magellanicus, a scallop (pronounced /ˈskɒləp/ or /ˈskæləp/) is
a marine bivalve mollusk of the family Pectinidae. Scallops are a cosmopolitan
family, found in all of the world's oceans. Many scallops are highly prized as a
food source. The brightly colored, fan-shaped shells of some scallops, with their
radiating fluted pattern, are valued by shell collectors. The name "scallop" is
derived from the Old French escalope, which means "shell"

Class Gastropoda
The gastropods, which include the snails, whelks, periwinkles, abalone, and slugs, are the largest
group of mollusks (at least 37,500 living species). They have either a single shell or no shell. Gastropods
are common in both salt and fresh water and on land. Class Gastropoda includes herbivores, omnivores, a
wide variety of specialized carnivores, scavengers, and even some parasites.
Land-dwelling snails do not have gills, but the area in their mantle cavities once occupied by gills is
rich in blood vessels, and the snail's blood is oxygenated there. Thus the mantle cavity has become, in effect,
a lung. Some snails that were probably once land dwellers have returned to the water, but they have not
regained gills. Instead, they bob up to the surface at intervals to entrap a fresh bubble of air in their mantle
cavities.
 Gastropods, which lead a more mobile, active existence than bivalves, have a ganglionated nervous
system with as many as six pairs of ganglia connected by nerve cords. There is a concentration of nerve cells
in the tentacles, at the anterior end. In some of the animals, the eyes are quite highly developed.
In some gastropods, the primitive form of reproduction--separate sexes with external fertilization--is
retained. In most gastropods, however, fertilization is internal, and hermaphroditism has evolved repeatedly
in this group. The simultaneous hermaphroditism found in many snails and slugs probably resulted from the
difficulties of such slow-moving animals in finding mates. In some species, the animals are males when they
are younger, then females when they are older and larger.

Example:
Sea slug
Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod
mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small
internal shell. This is in contrast to the common name snail, which is
applied to gastropods that have coiled shells that are big enough to
retract into.

Slugs belong to several different lineages that also include snails with shells. The shell-less condition has
arisen many times independently during the evolutionary past, and thus the category "slug" is emphatically a
polyphyletic one. The various groups of land slugs are not closely related, despite a superficial similarity in
the overall body form.
Class Cephalopoda
The cephalopods (the “head-foots”) are, in many respects, the most evolutionarily advanced animals
to be found among the invertebrates. The 600 living species in this strictly marine class rival the vertebrates
in complexity and, in some cases, in intelligence. Active predators, they compete quite successfully with
fish.
Although obviously mollusks, the cephalopods have become greatly modified. The large head has
conspicuous eyes and a central mouth surrounded by arms, some 90 in the chambered Nautilus, ten in the
squid, and eight in the octopus. The octopus body seldom reaches more than 30 centimeters in diameter
(except on the late late show), but giant squids sometimes attain sea-monster proportions. One caught in the
Atlantic in 1861 was about six meters long, not counting the tentacles.

Freedom from the external shell has given the mantle (the outermost layer or body wall, or a soft
extension of it) more flexibility. The most obvious effect of this is the jet propulsion by which cephalopods
dart through the water. Usually, water taken into the mantle cavity bathes the gills and is then expelled
slowly through a tube-shaped structure, the siphon; but when the cephalopod is hunting or being hunted, it
can contract the mantle cavity forcibly and suddenly, thereby squirting out a sudden jet of water.
Contraction of the mantle-cavity muscles usually shoots the animal backward, head last, but the squid and
the octopus can turn the siphon in almost any direction they choose. Cephalopods also have sacs from which
they can release a dark fluid that forms a cloud, concealing their retreat and confusing their enemies. These
colored fluids were at one time a chief source of commercial inks. Sepia is the name of the genus of
cuttlefish from which a brown ink used to be obtained.
The cephalopods have well-developed brains, composed of many groups of ganglia, in keeping with
their highly developed sensory systems and their lively, predatory behavior. These large brains are covered
with cartilaginous cases. The rapid responses of the cephalopods are made possible by a bundle of giant
nerve fibers that control the muscles of the mantle. Many of the studies on conduction of nerve impulses are
made with the giant axons of squids, which are large enough to permit the insertion of electrodes.
In cephalopods, the sexes are always separate, and fertilization is internal. Courtship and mating
behavior are complex, and males often fight for access to females. Fertilization occurs when the male uses
one of his arms to transfer the packets of sperm, called spermatophores, from his mantle cavity to the mantle
cavity of the female. The female produces an intricate, gelatinous egg mass in which the developing
embryos are protected until they hatch as miniature adults. In Octopus and some other cephalopod genera,
the mother guards the egg masses, cleaning and aerating them.
Example:
Nautilus, as the only modern shelled cephalopod, offers an indication of
some of the steps by which this class disposed of the shell entirely. The animal
occupies only the outermost portion of its elaborate and beautiful shell, the rest of
which serves as a flotation chamber. In the squid and its relative, the cuttlefish, the
shell has become an internal stiffening support, and in the octopus, it is lacking
entirely.

Economic Importance of Mollusca

Molluscs are indirectly harmful to man but most of them are beneficial. Molluscs are of great
important in various ways. There are some benefits of molluscs:

1. The harmful molluscs ate slugs and shipworms. Slugs are injurious in gardens and cultivations. They not
only eat leaves but also destroy plants by cutting up their roots and stems. Teredo, a shipworm damages
wooden parts of ship.
2. Many mollusks are great source of food for man in many parts of world. Large quantity of calms, oysters
and mussels are eaten in Fareast, Europe and America. Oysters are regarded as delicacy.
3. Shell of fresh water mussels is used in button industry.

4. The shell of oyster are mixed with tar for making roads in America.
5. Shells in certain parts of world are also used for making ornaments.
6. Some oysters also make valuable pearls e.g. the pearl oyster.
7. Some pearls are used for making jewellery.
8. Some animals including in this phyla are use to eat in some countries.
Phylum Arthropoda
An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton (external skeleton), a segmented body,
and jointed appendages. Arthropods are members of the phylum Arthropoda (from Greek ἄρθρον arthron,
"joint", and ποδός podos "foot", which together mean "jointed feet"), and include the insects, arachnids,
crustaceans, and others. Arthropods are characterized by their jointed limbs and cuticles, which are mainly
made of α-chitin; the cuticles of crustaceans are also biomineralized with calcium carbonate. The rigid
cuticle inhibits growth, so arthropods replace it periodically by molting. The arthropod body plan consists of
repeated segments, each with a pair of appendages. It is so versatile that they have been compared to Swiss
Army knives, and it has enabled them to become the most species-rich members of all ecological guilds in
most environments. They have over a million described species, making up more than 80% of all described
living animal species, and are one of only two animal groups that are very successful in dry environments –
the other being the amniotes. They range in size from microscopic plankton up to forms a few meters long.
Arthropods' primary internal cavity is a hemocoel, which accommodates their internal organs and
through which their blood circulates; they have open circulatory systems. Like their exteriors, the internal
organs of arthropods are generally built of repeated segments. Their nervous system is "ladder-like", with
paired ventral nerve cords running through all segments and forming paired ganglia in each segment. Their
heads are formed by fusion of varying numbers of segments, and their brains are formed by fusion of the
ganglia of these segments and encircle the esophagus. The respiratory and excretory systems of arthropods
vary, depending as much on their environment as on the subphylum to which they belong.
Their vision relies on various combinations of compound eyes and pigment-pit ocelli: in most species
the ocelli can only detect the direction from which light is coming, and the compound eyes are the main
source of information, but the main eyes of spiders are ocelli that can form images and, in a few cases, can
swivel to track prey. Arthropods also have a wide range of chemical and mechanical sensors, mostly based
on modifications of the many setae (bristles) that project through their cuticles.
Arthropods' methods of reproduction and development are diverse; all terrestrial species use internal
fertilization, but this is often by indirect transfer of the sperm via an appendage or the ground, rather than by
direct injection. Aquatic species use either internal or external fertilization. Almost all arthropods lay eggs,
but scorpions give birth to live young after the eggs have hatched inside the mother. Arthropod hatchlings
vary from miniature adults to grubs and caterpillars that lack jointed limbs and eventually undergo a total
metamorphosis to produce the adult form. The level of maternal care for hatchlings varies from zero to the
prolonged care provided by scorpions.
The versatility of the arthropod modular body plan has made it difficult for zoologists and
paleontologists to classify them and work out their evolutionary ancestry, which dates back to the Cambrian
period. From the late 1950s to late 1970s, it was thought that arthropods were polyphyletic, that is, there was
no single arthropod ancestor. Now they are generally regarded as monophyletic. Historically, the closest
evolutionary relatives of arthropods were considered to be annelid worms, as both groups have segmented
bodies. This hypothesis is by now largely rejected, with annelids and molluscs forming the superphylum
Lophotrochozoa. Many analyses support a placement of arthropods with cycloneuralians (or their constituent
clades) in a superphylum Ecdysozoa. Overall however, the basal relationships of Metazoa are not yet well
resolved. Likewise, the relationships between various arthropod groups are still actively debated.
Although arthropods contribute to human food supply both directly as food and more importantly as
pollinators of crops, they also spread some of the most severe diseases and do considerable damage to
livestock and crops.
Class Arachnida
The class Arachnida includes a diverse group of arthropods: spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites,
harvestmen, and their cousins. Scientists describe over 75,000 species of arachnids, the majority of them
spiders. Most arachnids are carnivorous, typically preying on insects, and terrestrial, living on land.
Arachnids provide an important service, keeping insect populations under control.
To be classified in the class Arachnida, an arthropod must have certain characteristics. Arachnid
bodies are divided into two distinct regions, the cephalothorax and the abdomen. Four pairs of legs attach to
the cephalothorax. Arachnids lack wings and antennae. Arachnids, like insects, are arthropods. All animals in
the phylum Arthropoda have exoskeletons, segmented bodies, and at least three pairs of legs.
Example:
Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs
that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among
all other groups of organisms.[1] Spiders are found worldwide on every continent except for Antarctica, and
have become established in nearly every habitat with the exception of air and sea colonization. As of 2008,
approximately 40,000 spider species, and 109 families have been recorded by taxonomists;[2] however, there
has been confusion within the scientific community as to how all these families should be classified, as
evidenced by the over 20 different classifications that have been proposed since 1900.[3]
Anatomically, spiders differ from other arthropods in that the usual body segments are fused into two
tagmata, the cephalothorax and abdomen, and joined by a small, cylindrical pedicel. Unlike insects, spiders
do not have antennae. In all except the most primitive group, the Mesothelae, spiders have the most
centralized nervous systems of all arthropods, as all their ganglia are fused into one mass in the
cephalothorax. Unlike most arthropods, spiders have no extensor muscles in their limbs and instead extend
them by hydraulic pressure.
Their abdomens bear appendages that have been modified into spinnerets that extrude silk from up to
six types of silk glands within their abdomen. Spider webs vary widely in size, shape and the amount of
sticky thread used. It now appears that the spiral orb web may be one of the earliest forms, and spiders that
produce tangled cobwebs are more abundant and diverse than orb-web spiders. Spider-like arachnids with
silk-producing spigots appear in the Devonian period about 386 million years ago, but these animals
apparently lacked spinnerets. True spiders have been found in Carboniferous rocks from 318 to 299 million
years ago, and are very similar to the most primitive surviving order, the Mesothelae. The main groups of
modern spiders, Mygalomorphae and Araneomorphae, first appear in the Triassic period, before 200 million
years ago.
Class Chilopoda
Centipedes (from Latin prefix centi-, "hundred", and pes, pedis, "foot") are arthropods belonging to the class
Chilopoda of the subphylum Myriapoda. They are elongated metameric animals with one pair of legs per
body segment. Despite the name, centipedes can have a varying number of legs from under 20 to over 300.
Centipedes have an odd number of pairs of legs, e.g. 15 or 17 pairs of legs (30 or 34 legs) but never 16 pairs
(32 legs).[1][2] A key trait uniting this group is a pair of venom claws or "forcipules" formed from a
modified first appendage. Centipedes are a predominantly carnivorous taxon.[3]:168

Centipedes normally have a drab coloration combining shades of brown and red. Cavernicolous (cave-
dwelling) and subterranean species may lack pigmentation and many tropical scolopendromorphs have
bright aposematic colours. Size can range from a few millimetres in the smaller lithobiomorphs and
geophilomorphs to about 30 cm (12 in) in the largest scolopendromorphs. Centipedes can be found in a wide
variety of environments.

Worldwide there are estimated to be 8,000 species of centipede,[4] of which 3,000 have been described.
Centipedes have a wide geographical range, reaching beyond the Arctic Circle.[3] Centipedes are found in an
array of terrestrial habitats from tropical rainforests to deserts. Within these habitats centipedes require a
moist micro-habitat because they lack the waxy cuticle of insects and arachnids, and so lose water rapidly
through the skin.[5] Accordingly, they are found in soil and leaf litter, under stones and dead wood, and
inside logs. Centipedes are among the largest terrestrial invertebrate predators and often contribute
significantly to the invertebrate predatory biomass in terrestrial ecosystems.
ClassDiplopoda
Millipedes are arthropods that have two pairs of legs per segment (except for the first segment behind the
head which does not have any appendages at all, and the next few which only have one pair of legs). Each
segment that has two pairs of legs is a result of two single segments fused together as one. Most millipedes
have very elongated cylindrical bodies, although some are flattened dorso-ventrally, while pill millipedes are
shorter and can roll into a ball, like a pillbug.

The name "millipede" is a compound word formed from the Latin roots mille ("thousand") and pes ("foot").
Despite their name, millipedes do not have 1,000 legs, although the rare species Illacme plenipes has up to
750.[2] Common species have between 36 and 400 legs. The class contains around 10,000 species in 13
orders and 115 families. The giant African millipede (Archispirostreptus gigas), known as shongololos, is the
largest species of millipede.

Millipedes are detritivores and slow moving. Most millipedes eat decaying leaves and other dead plant
matter, moisturising the food with secretions and then scraping it in with its jaws. However, they can also be
a minor garden pest, especially in greenhouses where they can cause severe damage to emergent seedlings.
Signs of millipede damage include the stripping of the outer layers of a young plant stem and irregular
damage to leaves and plant apices.

Millipedes can be easily distinguished from the somewhat similar and related centipedes (Class Chilopoda),
which move rapidly, and have a single pair of legs for each body segment.
Class Crustacea
Crustaceans (Crustacea) form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which
includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described
species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at 0.1 mm (0.004 in), to the Japanese spider crab with a leg
span of up to 12.5 ft (3.8 m) and a mass of 44 lb (20 kg). Like other arthropods, crustaceans have an
exoskeleton, which they moult to grow. They are distinguished from other groups of arthropods, such as
insects, myriapods and chelicerates by the possession of biramous (two-parted) limbs, and by the nauplius
form of the larvae.

Most crustaceans are free-living aquatic animals, but some are terrestrial (e.g. woodlice), some are parasitic
(e.g. fish lice, tongue worms) and some are sessile (e.g. barnacles). The group has an extensive fossil record,
reaching back to the Cambrian, and includes living fossils such as Triops cancriformis, which has existed
apparently unchanged since the Triassic period. More than 10 million tons of crustaceans are produced by
fishery or farming for human consumption, the majority of it being shrimps and prawns. Krill and copepods
are not as widely fished, but may be the animals with the greatest biomass on the planet, and form a vital part
of the food chain. The scientific study of crustaceans is known as carcinology (alternatively,
malacostracology, crustaceology or crustalogy), and a scientist who works in carcinology is a carcinologist.
Class insecta
The class Insecta is composed entirely of insects and is the largest group in the animal kingdom, with 29
orders and 800 000 known species. It is estimated that there may be up to 50 000 000 species of insects on
Earth, most of which have not yet been discovered. Insects are in the phylum Arthropoda along with
Malacostraca (crabs), Diplopoda (millipedes), Chilopoda (centipedes), and Arachnida (spiders, ticks). Insects
are in the subphylum Tracheata because they breathe through a trachaea. All insects have a general
appearance: a hard outer covering (exoskeleton) that is non-living and must be shed periodically; one pair of
antannae (sometimes a second, smaller pair around the mouth); mouth parts perfected for licking, piercing,
crushing, or sucking; 6 legs (3 pairs) all found on the thorax; and three body sections known as the head, the
thorax, and the abdomen. Most insects have one or two pairs of wings.

Insects are the most successful forms of life on this planet. They are typically very small, the largest being
about the size of a human hand. They locomote in a variety of ways, including swimming, jumping, gliding,
flying, skating, clinging, floating, crawling, walking, running, and/or drifting. Class Insecta is one of the
most diverse groups of animals on this planet. The 29 orders are:

..Protura (small, wingless insects)

..Collembola (springtails)
..Thysanura (silverfish)
..Diplura (bristletails)
..Ephemeroptera (mayflies)
..Odonata (dragonflies, damselflies)
..Plecoptera (stoneflies)
..Grylloblatodea (grylloblattas)
..Orthoptera (crickets, grasshoppers, locusts)
..Phasmida (stick insects, leaf insects)
..Dermaptera (earwigs)
..Embioptera (embiids)
..Dictyoptera (cockroaches, mantids)
..Isoptera (termites)
..Zoraptera (terrestrial lice)
..Psocoptera (book lice, bark lice)
..Mallophaga (biting lice)
..Siphunculata (sucking lice)
..Hemiptera (true bugs)
..Thysanoptera (thrips)
..Neuroptera (lacewings, antlions, mantis flies)
..Coleoptera (beetles) 300 000 spp
..Strepsiptera (stylops)
..Mecoptera (scorpionflies)
..Siphonaptera (fleas)
..Diptera (true flies, mosquitoes)
..Lepidoptera (butterflies, moths) 200 000 spp
..Trichoptera (caddis flies)
..Hymenoptera (bees, ants, wasps, hornets) 100 000 spp

Economic Importance of Arthropoda