Untitled Flashcard Set

Phylum Porifera

Also known as "pore bearers", sponges; characterized by cell-level organization and filter-feeding using choanocytes.

Choanocyte

The diagnostic cell type of Phylum Porifera; responsible for generating water flow and feeding.

Ostia

Small openings in sponges through which water enters.

Osculum

A larger opening through which water exits in sponges.

Phylum Cnidaria

Includes jellyfish, anemones, and corals; has tissue-level organization with cnidocytes.

Cnidocyte

The specialized cell type found in Cnidarians that contains nematocysts for capturing prey.

Planula

The larval stage of Cnidarians, characterized by a free-swimming phase.

Polyp

The sessile body form of Cnidarians that is attached to a substrate.

Medusa

The motile, bell-shaped stage of Cnidarians, typically free-swimming.

Class Hydrozoa

A class within Cnidaria where the polyp stage is dominant; includes Hydra and colonial species.

Class Scyphozoa

The class of true jellyfish, where the medusa stage is dominant.

Class Anthozoa

The class of Cnidarians that includes sea anemones and corals; lacks a medusa stage.

Phylum Platyhelminthes

Commonly known as flatworms, with triploblastic structure and acoelomate organization.

Class Turbellaria

A class of Platyhelminthes; includes free-living freshwater and marine flatworms.

Class Trematoda

Parasitic flukes within the Phylum Platyhelminthes, characterized by oral and ventral suckers.

Class Cestoda

Parasitic tapeworms with a scolex for attachment and lack of digestive systems.

Phylum Rotifera

Known as rotifers, these are microscopic, aquatic, triploblastic, and pseudocoelomate animals.

Phylum Mollusca

Soft-bodied organisms including bivalves, snails, and cephalopods with coelomate structure.

Class Bivalvia

Aquatic filter feeders in Phylum Mollusca characterized by a two-part shell.

Class Gastropoda

Includes snails and slugs with varied body plans and modes of locomotion.

Class Cephalopoda

The class of marine mollusks like squids and octopi, characterized by a closed circulatory system.

Class Polyplacophora

Chitons with a shell segmented into eight plates, allowing them to curl for protection.

Phylum Nematoda

Roundworms with a triploblastic structure and unique longitudinal muscles.

Phylum Annelida

Segmented worms with metamerism and a closed circulatory system.

Clade Polychaeta

Marine annelids characterized by setae and a dioecious reproductive system.

Clade Clitellata

Includes earthworms and leeches within Annelida, mostly monoecious.

Class Hirudinea

Leeches, which are primarily freshwater or terrestrial segmented worms.

Phylum Arthropoda

Jointed-foot animals like insects and crustaceans; characterized by a chitinous exoskeleton.

Subphylum Chelicerata

Includes spiders and horseshoe crabs, with six pairs of appendages and two tagmata.

Class Merostomata

Horseshoe crabs with carapace protection and book gills for respiration.

Class Arachnida

Spiders and mites characterized by modified chelicerae and respiration via book lungs.

Subphylum Crustacea

Includes barnacles and lobsters with variable appendages for different functions.

Class Insecta

Insects with three body segments and often two pairs of wings.

Class Chilopoda

Centipedes with one pair of legs per segment; they are carnivorous.

Class Diplopoda

Millipedes with two pairs of legs per segment; primarily herbivorous.

Phylum Echinodermata

Includes starfish and sea cucumbers; characterized by a calcium carbonate endoskeleton.

Class Asteroidea

Star-shaped echinoderms like seastars, with tube feet used for locomotion.

Class Ophiuroidea

Brittle stars with slender arms and tube feet lacking suckers.

Class Echinoidea

Sea urchins and sand dollars, characterized by a spherical shape and compact endoskeleton.

Class Holothuroidea

Sea cucumbers with a soft cylindrical body; can expel a respiratory tree as defense.

Phylum Chordata

Characterized by four defining traits: notochord, dorsal hollow nerve cord, pharyngeal gill slits, and post-anal tail.

Subphylum Tunicata

Marine filter feeders like sea squirts that are sessile as adults.

Subphylum Cephalochordata

Lancelets that filter feed from burrows in the ocean floor.

Subphylum Vertebrata

Organisms with a cranium and tripartite brain and calcareous endoskeleton.

Class Agnatha

Jawless vertebrates such as hagfish and lampreys, with a cartilaginous skeleton.

Class Chondrichthyes

Cartilage fish like sharks and rays with paired fins.

Class Actinopterygii

Bony fishes with a bony endoskeleton and scales of dermal origin.

Class Amphibia

Amphibians like frogs with moist skin and dual life stages (larval and adult).

Class Reptilia

Reptiles with skin covered in scales or feathers, exhibiting direct development.

Class Mammalia

Mammals with hair for insulation, mammary glands, and high brain complexity.