Kingdom Animalia Characteristics
A major group of animals are classified under kingdom Animalia which is also know Metazoa. Thuis kingdom doesn’t include prokaryotes. It is made up of multicellular eukaryotes. Theses organisms are also heterotrophs meaning the depend on other organisms directly or indirectly for food. They ingest food and digest in the internal cavity. They are also motile, they can move independently and spontaneously. Out of the 9 or 10 million species of animals and only 800,000 are classified. Most of these animals live in the oceans than fresh waters and the least on land. Animals have cells that form organized tissue which then becomes into organs. Their bodies are made up of organ systems that are important for their survival. There are approximately 35 phylums in kingdom animalia.
Phylums:
- Phylum Porifera - The Sponges
- Phylum Coelenterata – The Coelenterates: jellyfish, hydras, corals, sea anemones
- Phylum Platyhelminthes – The Flatworms, tapeworms and flukes
- Phylum Nematoda – The Roundworms
- Phylum Annelida – The Segmented Worms: earthworm, leeches and bristle worms
- Phylum Mollusca – clams, snails, oysters, octopus
- Phylum Echinodermata – sea stars, sea urchins and sea cucumbers
- Phylum Arthropoda – insects, spiders, crustaceans
- .Phylum Chordata – fish, reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals