Example Organisms

Invertebrates

Craspedacusta sowerbyi

• CC image via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Craspedacusta_sowerbyii.jpg

• It is a freshwater jellyfish in the phylum Cnidaria. It is under the class Hydrozoa which undergoes both polyp and medusa stages; polyp stage is often colonial.

Chironex fleckeri

• CC image via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Avispa_marina.jpg

• The sea wasp, Chironex fleckeri, is a member of class Cubozoa. Its poison, which can subdue fish and other large prey, is more potent than cobra venom.

Membranipora membranacea

• CC image via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Membranipora_membranacea.jpg

• Ectoprocts, such as this sea mat are colonial lophophorates that superficially resemble clumps of moss. The colony is encased in a hard exoskeleton studed with pores throu wich the lophophores extend.

Platystrophia ordovician

• CC image via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PlatystrophiaOrdovician.jpg

• Brachiopods, or lamp shells, superficially resemble clams. The two haves of the hinged shell are dorsal and ventral, rather than lateral as in clams. All brachiopods are marine, and most live attached to the seafloor by a stalk, opening their shell slightly to allow water to flow through the lophophore.

Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni

• CC image via http://marinebio.org/upload/_04/Architeuthis_dux4.jpg

• Most species of squid are less than 75 cm long, but this giant squid is considerably larger. It was for a long time the largest squid known, with a mantle up to 2.25 m long and a total length of 18 m. Squids are speedy carnivores with beak-like jaws and well-developed eyes.

Enteroctopus dofleini

• Cc image via http://www.tnaqua.org/Libraries/Invertebrates/Giant_Pacific_Octopus.sflb.ashx

• This giant pacific octopus is a cephalod usually found on the coastal North Pacific. Cephalods are Mullusks that use their tentacles to grasp prey, which they then bite with beak-like jaws and immobilize with a poison found in their saliva. Octopuses are considered to be among the most intelligent invertebrates.

Hirudo medicinalis

• CC image via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Svømmende_blodigle.JPG

• The majority of leeches inhabit fresh water, but there are also marine species as well as terrestrial. Many are predators that feed on other invertebrates, but some are parasites that suck blood by attaching temporarily to the other animals, including humans.

Trichinella spiralis

• CC image via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Trichinella_larv1_DPDx.JPG

• This nematode is notorious for causing trichinosis. Humans acquire this nematode by eating raw or undercooked pork or other meat that has juvenile worms encysted in the muscle tissue.

Limulus polyphemus

• CC image via http://bugguide.net/images/raw/HR9HHR4HOHIHBH2HRR8LPZ8LRRMLUZ7LJHUH9Z4LHR6HAH8H8Z4HPZKL1HLL4Z4HVHHLEZMH1HXH3H.jpg

• Horseshoe crabs, commonly found on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of United States, are “living fossils” that have changed little in hundreds of millions of years. They are surviving members of a rich diversity of chelicerforms that once filled the seas.

Ornithoptera euphorion

• CC image via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MG_3164.jpg

• The Cairns Birdwing (Ornithoptera euphorion) is a species of birdwing butterfly endemic to northeastern Australia, and is Australia’s largest endemic butterfly species. Females have a wingspan reaching of up to 16 cm, males are usually a few centimeters smaller.

Ocypode quadrata

• CC image via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ocypode_quadrata_(Cahuita).jpg

• Ghost crabs live on sandy ocean beeches worldwide. Primarily nocturnal, they take shelter in burrows during the day. This ghost crab belongs to the crustacean phylum.

Hyperia macrocephala

• CC image via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hyperia.jpg

• Planktonic crustaceans known as krill are consumed in vast quantities by some whales. They include many species of copeods, which are among the most numerous of all animals and grow to about 5 cm long.

Ophioderma rubicundum

• CC image via http://tolweb.org/tree/ToLimages/brittle.jpg

• This dazzling ruby red brittle star belongs to the Ophiuroidea class of Echinodermata. Brittle stars have a distinct central disk and long, flexible arms. They move by lashing their arms in serpentine movements.

Echinus melo

• CC image via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Riccio_Melone_a_Capo_Caccia_adventurediving.it.jpg

• Sea urchins are part of the Echinoidea class of Echinodermata. They have no arms, but they do have five rows of tube feet that function in slow movement. They have muscles that pivot their long spines which aid in locomotion and protection.

Branchiostoma lanceolatum

• CC image via http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Branchiostoma_lanceolatum.jpg

• Lancelets are part of the phylum chordata. They are coelomates with a notochord, dorsal (a hallow nerve cord), pharyngeal slits, and a post-anal tail. They are usually found buried in sand in shallow parts of temperate or tropical seas.

Callyspongia plicifera

• CC image via http://lhsvirtualzoo.wikispaces.com/file/view/sponge_4.jpg

• Callyspongia plicifera, also known as Azure vase spnge, is a sponge. Sponges are basal animals that lack true tissues. Sponges have choanocytes, or flagellated collar cells that ingest bacteria and tiny food particles.