Activities
Phylum Comparison Chart Key
SPONGES
C N I DA R I A N S
F L AT WO R M S
ANNELIDS
Phylum
Porifera
Phylum
Cnidaria
Phylum
Platyhelminthes
Phylum
Annelida
No symmetry or
consistent body shape
First muscles and nerves
Some of the simplest animals
with bilateral symmetry
Bilateral phylum that
added segmentation
Tubular mouth (pharynx) at
mid-body
Complete digestive tract with
two ends
Three tissue layers, but no
body cavity
Fluid-filled compartments
used for locomotion
Water flows through its
body, full of canals
Spicules act as a skeleton to
give it structure
No locomotion;
stationary animal
Some have stinging
structures (nematocysts)
Some free-drifting medusae
Some non-swimming polyps
Hollow body cavity for food
Digestive tract with the
entrance being the exit
Digestive tract with the
entrance being the exit
Their active burrowing has
affected global climate
Most members are parasitic
Body design basically
a tube within a tube
A RT H RO P O D S
MOLLUSCS
ECHINODERMS
C H O R DAT E S
Phylum
Arthropoda
Phylum
Mollusca
Phylum
Echinodermata
Phylum
Chordata
Champions of
variations in appendages
Feeding device like a
toothed, rasping tongue
(radula)
Five-part radial symmetry
All have notochord; most
have backbone
Most have a
calcium-carbonate shell
Some spines are
little pincers (pedicellaria)
First phylum to
venture into the air
Muscular “foot” used to slide,
dig, or jump
Pioneered jointed legs
Some propel, using their
siphon as a water jet
Hard but flexible bodies with
interlocking plates under
thin skin
Phylum to which
humans belong
All members
live in the ocean
Jaws and skulls
important in their evolution
Complete digestive
tract with two ends
Complete digestive
tract with two ends
Specialized cells,
but not organized into
organs or tissues
Exoskeleton
(outside skeleton) made of
chitin and protein
More species than
any other phylum
Complete digestive tract
with two ends
Bilateral phylum
that added segmentation
Tube feet used
for locomotion
Mantle of tissue
covering the body
Complete digestive
tract with two ends
Increased complexity made
possible by much more DNA
Most have inside
skeleton of bones
Bilateral phylum
that added segmentation
P A G E 24