Metazoa -- multicellular mitochondrial eukaryotes (together with plants, fungi and some protists sometimes referred to as Crown Eukaryotes) Invertebrates 'animals without backbones'; here taken to include all non-chordate metazoans:- --[links] Porifera poriferans, sponges, characterized by pores in their outside walls through which water is drawn --[dedicated site ToL ucmp ummzADW links ] Calcarea calcareous sponges with spicules of calcium carbonate (Clathrina) Demospongiae have a skeletal network of spongin fibers and/or siliceous spicules, includes all known freshwater sponges (Ephydatia, Haliclona, Spongilla) Hexactinellida glass sponges with siliceous spicules (Hexactinella, Rossella) Sclerospongiae a polyphyletic grouping Stromatoporoidea fossil group with massive calcareous skeletons (Stromatoporella) Coelenterata (=Cnidaria) coelenterates, mainly marine phylum characterized by cnida or nematocysts used in feeding; characteristic body forms are the polyp (generally sedentary) and the medusa (generally motile) --[ToL ummzADW links] Anthozoa includes most corals & sea anemones, coelenterates whose living representatives lack a medusoid 'jellyfish' stage in their life cycle --[ ummzADW links] Ceriantipatharia black corals, thorny corals (Antipathes, Cerianthus) Octocorallia (=Alcyonaria) alcyonarians, soft corals, sea pens (Alcyonium, Renilla) --[links] Zoantharia (=Hexacorallia) corals and sea anemones Actiniaria sea anemones (Actinia, Metridium) --[links] Rugosa fossil rugose corals, tetracorals (Acanthophyllum, Stylostrotion) Scleractinia (=Madreporaria) hard corals, stony corals, true corals (Acropora, Fungia, Montastraea, Porites) --[links] Tabulata tabulate corals, fossil (Alveolites, Heliolites) Zoanthiniaria (=Zoanthidea) (Palythoa, Zoanthus) Cubozoa box jellyfish (Carybdea) --[ummzADW] Hydrozoa (=Hydromedusae) mostly alternate between polyp and medusa stage, many are colonial --[ucmp ummzADW links] Hydroida freshwater hydras & colonial hydroids (Hydra, Hydractinia, Obelia, Plumularia, Tubularia) Milleporina (=Milleporida) hydrocorals, millepores (Millepora) Siphonophorida (=Siphonophora) colonial jellyfish (Physalia) Scyphozoa true jellyfish (Aurelia, Chrysaora, Rhopilema) --[ucmp ummzADW links] Ctenophora comb jellies, ctenophores, jelly like motile marine organisms with rows of beating cilia or comb plates (Beroe, Mnemiopsis, Pleurobrachia) --[ ToL ucmp links] Echinodermata echinoderms, marine deuterostome organisms characterized by tube feet which form part of the water vascular system, thought to possibly have a common ancestry with the chordates --[dedicated site ToL ucmp ummzADW links] Crinoidea featherstars, sea lilies (Barycrinus, Metacrinus) --[ToL ucmp] Echinoidea heart urchins, sand dollars, sea urchins (Clypeaster, Echinus, Echinocardium, Hemicentrotus, Lytechinus, Paracentrotus, ylocentrotus) Holothuroidea sea cucumbers (Cucumaria, Holothuria, Stichopus) Stelleroidea Asteroidea sea stars, starfish (Acanthaster, Asterias, Pisaster) --[ucmp] Ophiuroidea brittle stars (Amphiura, Ophiura) Platyhelminthes flat worms, acoelomate animals of uncertain origin --[ToL ucmp ummzADW links] Cestoda tapeworms (Diphyllobothrium, Echinococcus, Hymenolepis, Taenia) --[ummzADW] Trematoda parasitic flukes (Cercaria, Diplostomum, Fasciola, Gyrodactylus, Schistosoma) --[ummzADW] Turbellaria turbellarians, free living flatworms (Dugesia, Temnocephala) --[ummzADW] Nematoda nematodes, roundworms, threadworms(some), whipworms, lungworms, hookworms, eelworms; a pseudocoelomate phylum with both parasitic and free-living representatives, exist in very large numbers (Ascaris, Caenorhabditis C. elegans, Haemonchus, Heterorhabditis, Meloidogyne, Onchocerca, Toxocara) --[dedicated site ToL ummzADW links] Acanthocephala acanthocephalans, spiny headed worms; a parasitic pseudocoelomate phylum with spiny protrusible proboscis (Acanthocephalus, Corynosoma, Moniliformis) --[ToL links] Mesozoa mesozoans, small worm like organisms at one time though to be degenerate flatworms (Rhopalura) Nematomorpha nematomorphans, horsehair worms, threadworms (some), gordian worms; a pseudocoelomate phylum (Gordius) --[ToL links] Nemertinea (=Rhynchocoela, Nemertea) nemertines, proboscis worms, rhynchocoels, ribbon worms, acoelomate worms with extensible proboscis (Cerebratulus, Lineus) --[ToL ucmp links] Annelida annelids, segmented coelomate worms with chitinous bristles --[dedicated site ucmp ToL ummzADW links] Hirudinea leeches (Helobdella, Hirudo, Notostomum) --[ToL ummzADW links] Oligochaeta earthworms, terrestrial bristle worms (Dendrobaena, Eisenia, Lumbricus, Tubifex) --[ummzADW links] Polychaeta lugworms, paddleworms, polychaetes, ragworms, sandworms, include parasitic Myzostomida but otherwise mostly marine (Arenicola, Cirratulus, Glycera, Lanice, Nereis, Polydora, Serpula) --[biblio ucmp ummzADW links] Rotifera (=Rotatoria) rotifers,'wheel animals' named for rotating ring of cilia; a pseudocoelomate phylum (Asplanchna, Brachionus, Lecane) --[links] Cephalorhyncha cephalorhynchans Chaetognatha chaetognaths, arrow worms, small marine arrow shaped organisms with moveable hooks (Sagitta) --[links] Cycliophora a new phylum only discovered in 1995 with a single species (Symbion pandora) --[links] Echiura echiurans, spoon worms, marine worms with extensible proboscis which live in u-shaped tubes (Echiurus, Urechis) --[ToL ucmp links] Gastrotricha gastrotrichs, free-living wormlike organisms with lobed heads; a pseudocoelomate phylum (Chaetonotus, Macrodasys, Xenotrichula) --[ToL links] Gnathostomulida gnathostomulids, jaw worms; a pseudocoelomate phylum (Gnathostomula) --[ToL links] Kinorhyncha kinorhynchs, free-living marine, with spiny heads used in characteristic locomotion after which they are named; a pseudocoelomate phylum (Echinoderes) --[ToL links] Lobopodia Loricifera loricifers; a pseudocoelomate phylum first described in 1983 with spiny heads and abdominal plates called lorica (Nanaloricus) Placozoa a parazoan group represented by the single species (Trichoplax adhaerens) --[links] Pogonophora pogonophorans, beard worms, deep-sea sessile worms of uncertain lineage which produce upright tubes to live in (Siboglinum) --[ToL ucmp links] Priapulida (=Priapula) priapulids; a pseudocoelomate protostomate phylum, short fat marine worms about which relatively little is known (Priapulus) --[ToL links] Sipuncula sipunculids, peanut worms, unsegmented protostomate marine worms characterized by the introvert, a contractile organ used in locomotion (Golfingia, Phascolion, Sipunculus) --[ToL ucmp links] Vestimentifera vestimentifers, phylum first described in 1985 for genera formerly considered to be pogonophorans (Escarpia, Lamellibrachia, Ridgeia) --[ToL links] Conodonta conodonts, group of conoidal shaped fossils (Polygnathus) --[links] Brachiopoda brachiopods, lamp shells; a marine lophophorate phylum of shelled animals with an extensive fossil record; Lingula is possibly the oldest genus with known living representatives --[ToL dedicated site ucmp links] Bryozoa (=Ectoprocta, Polyzoa) bryozoans, ectoprocts, polyzoans, 'moss' animals; a lophophorate & coelomate phylum of graytic & mostly colonial animals; (some classifications group Ectoprocta together with Entoprocta as Bryozoa) (Bugula, Membranipora, Plumatella) --[dedicated site ToL ucmp links] Entoprocta (=Kamptozoa) entoprocts, kamptozoans; a marine pseudocoelomate phylum, mostly sessile filter feeders (Loxosoma) --[ToL links]