Animalphylaparagraphs

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Animal Phyla Paragraphs

By: Marslina Mccahey, Grace Olson, Shasta Parker, and Sasha Urban

1.Sponge:
There are three subgroups of the phylum Porifera.There are three subgroups of
sponges. The glass sponges have a skeleton that consists of fragile,
glass-like spicules that are made of silica. The demosponges are
often vibrantly colored and can grow to be the largest of all sponges.
The demosponges account for more than 90 percent of all living
sponge species. The calcareous sponges are the only group of
sponges to have spicules that are made of calcium carbonate.
Calcareous sponges are often smaller than other sponges.
Sponges are important in the ecology and survival of numerous
aquatic organisms. They are large irregular shaped things that make great habitats for
snails, sea stars, sea cucumber, and shrimp. They live attached to the seafloor where
they get a low amount of light. Scientists have figured out that the sponge has a spicule
which acts as a magnifying glass and intensifies the light. This is how they have had the
ability to survive in so many places.
2. Jellyfish:
The subgroups of the phylum Cnidarians are Scyphozoa, Hydrozoa, and
Anthozoa. The subgroup Scyphozoa contains jellyfish, which are the
most common Cnidarians. They are also known as cup animals
and live most of their life as medusas. The subgroup Hydrozoa
contains hyras and other related animals. Hyras are different from
other Cnidarians because they lack the medusa stage. Finally, the
subgroup Anthozoa contains sea anemones and corals. These
creatures only have the polyp stage in their lifecycle.
The distribution of corals is determined by temperature, water depth, and light
intensity. Hard corals that make up coral reefs require a high intensity of light. Coral
reefs are being damaged by humans who are diving, mining, and bleaching. Scientists
are concerned that many reefs around the world could soon be in serious danger.

3. Earthworm:
Earthworms belong to the phylum annelida, which means little ring. The other
subgroups of this phylum include leeches and an assortment of segmented marine

worms. Their bodies are divided into sections by setae. They are made of very complex
organ systems that are special from the segments in their bodies. They get food by
using a pharynx that contains two hard jaws, then the food travels through their
digestive system then is excreted through their anus. They use
gills to breath, and cilia which are little hairs to move through
the dirt. Some of them produce sexually, but others such as
earthworms and leeches are hermaphrodites and reproduce by
attaching to each other and exchanging sperm.
The earliest Earthworms were noted all the way back to
the ancient Greeks. Aristotle even called them the intestines of
the earthbecause they are so important. Charles Darwin even
dedicated a year to studying them, and he ended up writing a
book just about Earthworms. They are very helpful to the
environment for many reasons, first they are beneficial for the soil. They provide tunnels
and airways for plant roots and water, and they are constantly mixing up the soil helping
it decompose. Next they are a very good source of food for many animals especially
birds, they help keep the food chain in tact.
4.Squid:
Squids belong to the phylum mollusca,the largest marine
phylum. Mollusca means shelled which is true for all of the
species in this phylum except for the squid and octopus. The
phylum mollusca includes the subgroups gastropods, bivalves,
and cephalopods. The gastropods are made up of snails and
slugs. The subgroup bivalve is made up of clams, mollusks,
oysters, and scallops. The cephalopods are squids and octopi.
Squids are not segmented, but have three body regions; the
head, visceral mass, and a muscular foot. They reproduce by making an egg sack for
their young. After mating, the male will usually die with the female shortly after. The
average lifespan of a squid ranges from 1-2 years.
Squids and the rest of the phylum mollusca play many important roles under the
surface of the sea. They feed on plants and prey on smaller animals to keep the
environments food chain structure in check. They also clean up their surroundings by
filtering algae and are a source of food for humans.

5. Grasshopper:
Grasshoppers belong to the phylum Arthropoda. Arthropods have few body
segments and specialized appendages for different functions. The different subgroups
of Arthropods are Crustaceans, Chelicerates, and Uniramians. Crustaceans have two
pairs of branched antennae, two or three body sections, and chewing mouthparts called

mandibles. Chelicerates, also known as spiders have mouthparts called chelicerae and
two body sections, and have four pairs of walking legs. Uniramians, or
insects, have jaws,one pair of antennae, and unbranched appendages.
Insects are known to have negative effects and having
associations with destruction and disease. But that isnt always the case.
They contribute enormously to the richness of human life. They produce
valuable products and are even considered a delicacy. Insects can
communicate using sound, visual, chemical, and other types of signals.
Most of their communication involves finding a mate. It can also be used
to locate prey.
6. Perch/Frog:
The frog and perch belong to the phylum Chordata. Chordates are divided into
three basic groups: vertebrates, tunicates, lancelets. Of these, the vertebrates
lampreys, mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles and fishesare the most familiar and
are the group to which humans belong. All Chordates are vertebrates, and they have a
bilateral body plan. At some point in their life, all chordates have pharyngeal slits, a
dorsal nerve chord, notochord, and a post anal tail. These are the characteristics that
show how similar the different subgroups of the Chordata are.
Some fish, such as lampreys and salmon, spend most of their life in the ocean
but migrate to freshwater to breed. These kinds of fish are called anadromous. Other
fish, such as European eels, do the opposite. These types of fish are called
catadromous.

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