Phyla Flash Cards
Flashcard 1
Front: Superphylum: Porifera - Phylum: Sponges
Back:
Representative Group: Sponges
Key Features: Spicules, spongin, pinacocytes, porocytes, choanocytes, amebocyte, osculum
Facts: Sessile, filter feeders, 6000 species, reproduce by budding or fragmentation, most are hermaphrodites
Flashcard 2
Front: Superphylum: Cnidarians - Phylum: Cnidaria
Back:
Representative Group: Sea anemones, jellyfish, corals
Key Features: Radial symmetry, specialized tissues, life stages (Medusa or Polyp)
Facts: 10,000 species, carnivorous, stinging organ (nematocysts), statocysts for balance
Flashcard 3
Front: Class: Hydrozoa (Cnidaria)
Back:
Representative Group: Feathery colonies of polyps
Key Features: Polyp stage dominates, colony of specialized organs
Facts: Found on pilings, shells, seaweeds, includes siphonophores (like blue bottle)
Flashcard 4
Front: Class: Scyphozoa (Cnidaria)
Back:
Representative Group: Jellyfish
Key Features: Medusa stage dominates
Facts: Can reach up to 3m diameter, painful and deadly sting, capture large prey like fish
Flashcard 5
Front: Class: Anthozoa (Cnidaria)
Back:
Representative Group: Sea anemones, corals
Key Features: Lack Medusa stage, complex polyp, septa in gut for digestion
Facts: Many are colonial, some secrete CaCO3 skeletons (corals)
Flashcard 6
Front: Superphylum: Ctenophora - Phylum: Comb Jellies
Back:
Key Features: Radial symmetry, swim with cilia (combs), 2 tentacles with stinging cells
Facts: 100 species, all marine, can be up to 2m long
Flashcard 7
Front: Phylum: Platyhelminthes - Flatworms
Back:
Key Features: Central nervous system, bilateral symmetry, single opening to gut
Facts: 20,000 species, movement leads to predatory behavior, includes parasitic flukes and tapeworms
Flashcard 8
Front: Phylum: Nematoda - Roundworms
Back:
Key Features: Cylindrical, pointed at both ends, hydrostatic skeleton
Facts: 10,000-25,000 species, found in sediments/tissues, complete digestive system
Flashcard 9
Front: Phylum: Annelida - Segmented Worms
Back:
Key Features: Body in segments, coelom, closed circulatory system
Facts: 20,000 species, includes earthworms, polychaetes (marine), leeches
Flashcard 10
Front: Phylum: Mollusca - Mollusks
Back:
Representative Group: Snails, bivalves, cephalopods
Key Features: Soft bodies, CaCO3 shells, muscular foot, radula (teeth)
Facts: 200,000 species, second most speciose phylum after arthropods
Flashcard 11
Front: Class: Gastropoda (Mollusca)
Back:
Representative Group: Snails, limpets, nudibranchs
Key Features: Muscular foot, radula, dorsal shell (lost in nudibranchs)
Facts: Largest and most varied class, includes carnivores and algae scrapers
Flashcard 12
Front: Superphylum: Arthropoda - Phylum: Arthropods
Back:
Key Features: Segmented body, jointed appendages, chitin exoskeleton
Facts: Largest animal phylum, includes insects (terrestrial) and crustaceans (marine)
Flashcard 13
Front: Subphylum: Crustacea (Arthropoda)
Back:
Representative Group: Copepods, amphipods, barnacles, decapods
Key Features: Body compression (varies by group), 10 legs in decapods
Facts: Economically important, includes shrimp, lobsters, crabs
Flashcard 14
Front: Phylum: Bryozoa - Bryozoans
Back:
Key Features: Lophophore feeding structure, unsegmented, U-shaped gut
Facts: 4,500 species, mainly marine, colonial with zooids
Flashcard 15
Front: Phylum: Echinodermata - Echinoderms
Back:
Representative Group: Sea stars, urchins, sea cucumbers
Key Features: Pentamerous radial symmetry, water vascular system
Facts: 7,000 species, all marine, includes tube feet for movement
Flashcard 16
Front: Class: Asteroidea (Echinodermata)
Back:
Representative Group: Sea stars
Key Features: 5 radiating arms, tube feet along arms
Facts: Prey on bivalves, snails, barnacles, can regenerate limbs
Flashcard 17
Front: Phylum: Chordata - Chordates
Back:
Key Features: Nerve cord, notochord, gill slits, post-anal tail
Facts: Includes tunicates, lancelets, vertebrates