Classification of Life
(unless otherwise noted, the skeleton is of calcium carbonate (calcite or aragonite) and the organism has a benthonic
way of life).
Kingdom Monera - prokaryotes, blue-green algae, bacteria, stromatolites (Precam-R)
Kingdom Protoctista (formerly Protista) - one celled organisms, eukaryotic organisms
Phylum Sarcodina (some planktonic)
Order Foraminifera (Cam-R) fusulinids, nummulites, and foraminifera
Order Radiolaria (Cam-R) opaline silica test
Phylum Chrysophyta (Jur. - R)
Class Bacillariophora - Diatoms - silica tests (Cret-R)
Class Coccolithophora - Coccolithophores (E.Jur-R)
Phylum Rhodophyta - Red algae
Phylum Chlorophyta - Green algae - (Proterozoic? - R)
Kingdom Animalia - other wise noted these organism have a calcium carbonate shell
Phylum Porifera - sponges - spongin, calcium carbonate or silicate spicules - radial symmetry, if any.
(Cam-R)
Phylum Archaeocyatha - extinct sponge-like organisms (Cam.)
Phylum Cnidaria - (Coelenterata) - septum, calyx, growth lines, tabulae, corallite, corallum, radial
symmetry.
Class Hydrozoa
Class Scyphozoa - jellyfish
Class Anthozoa - corals & sea anemones
Subclass Tabulata - honey comb corals (Ord-Perm)
Subclass Rugosa - horn coral (Tetracoral) (Ord-Perm)
Subclass Zoantharia
Order Scleractinia – Hexacorals, modern reef coral, (Trias-R)
Phylum Bryozoa - moss animals (Ord-R) always colonial, zoarium, aperture.
Phylum Brachiopoda (Cam-R) - beak, hinge line, plication, growth line, fold, sulcus, bilateral symmetry,
inarticulate or articulate shells, some of phosphatic composition.
Class Inarticulata - calcium phosphatic shell (E.Cam-R)
Class Articulata - teeth and sockets, thick shells (E.Cam-R)
Phylum Mollusca - soft bodied organism
Class Bivalvia - clams, oysters (Pelecypoda) (E.Cam-R), growth line beak, pallial line,
pallial sinus, muscle scar, hinge teeth bilateral symmetry parallel with hinge line.
Class Gastropoda - snails, conches (E.Cam-R) aperature, whorl
Class Cephalopoda - octopus, squid (Cam-R), nektonic, suture, septa, chamber,
planispiral coil
Subclass Nautiloidea (nautiloids) (Cam-R)
Subclass Ammonoidea (ammonites) (Dev. - Cret.)
Subclass Coleoidea (internal shelled or skeleton cephalopods)
Order Belemnoidea - belemnites (E. Miss. - Eocene)
Phylum Arthropoda - jointed-appendages, segmented, bilateral symmetry, chitin (Cam. - R)
Subphylum Trilobita (Cam-Perm) - axial lobe, pleural lobe, cephalon, thorax, pygidium
Subphylum Chelicerata (Arachnoidea, Merostomata) - horeshoe crab, spiders, scorpions,
eurypterids, ticks & mites (Ord-R)
Class Merostomata (Ord. - R)
Order Eurypterida - eurypterids (M. Ord.-Perm)
Order Xiphosura - Horseshoe crabs (Cam-R)
Class Arachnida - scorpions, spiders, ticks, and mites (Sil-R)
Subphylum Crustacea (Cam-R) - ostracods, lobsters, crabs, barnacles
Class Cirripedia - barnacles (Sil-R)
Class Ostracoda - ostracods (Cam-R)
Class Malacostraca - Lobsters, shrimp, crabs
Order Decapoda - Shrimp, Lobsters, crabs, crayfish (Perm. - R)
Order Isopoda - Sow Bugs (Trias. - R)
Subphylum Labiata (Uniramia) (Sil - R)
Class Insecta - fly, beetle, butterfly, dragonfly, crickets, grasshoppers, etc (E.Dev. - R)
Phylum Echinodermata - 5 fold radial/bilateral symmetry
Class Asteroidea - starfish (Ord-R) mobile, predatious
Class Echinoidea - sand dollar, sea urchin (Ord-R) ambulacral area, interambulacral area,
plate
Class Crinoidea - sea lilies (Ord-R) attached, stem, calyx, arms, columnals
Class Blastoidea (Ord-Perm) attached, calyx, plate, ambulacral area
Phylum Hemichordata
Class Graptolithina - graptolites (Camb-Penn)
Phylum Conodontophora (Conodonta) - calcium phosphate, conodonts. (Cam - Late Tria.)
Phylum Chordata
Subphylum Vertebrata - bilateral symmetry, bone and/or cartilage
Superclass Agnatha - jawless fish (Cam-R)
Superclass Gnathostomata - ("Jawed mouth"): Those vertebrates with jaws and usually
with paired appendages.
Class Acanthodii - primative jawed, spiny fish (Dev - Perm)
Class Placodermi - archaic jawed fish (Sil-Perm)
Class Chondrichthyes - shark, skate, ray (Dev-R) cartilagenous fish
Class Osteichthyes - bony fish, crossopterygians (Sil-R)
Class Amphibia - frogs, salamanders, labyrinthodonta (Dev-R)
Class Reptilia - turtle, snake, lizard, alligator, dinosaur (Penn-R)
Class Aves - birds, Archaeopteryx - (Jur) (Trias-R)
Class Mammalia - dog, opossum, man, horse (Trias-R)
Kingdom Plantae - plants soft tissue (Precam-R)
Phylum Charophyta - Stoneworts
Phylum Bryophyta - Liverworts, mosses (Dev. - R)
Phylum Psilophyta - extinct leafless vascular plant(M. Paleozoic)
Phylum Lycophyta (Lycopodophyta) - club mosses, Lycopsids (Sil. - R)
Phylum Sphenophyta (Equisetophyta, Arthrophyta) - horsetails and sphenopsids, (Dev. - R)
Phylum Filicinophyta (Polypodiophyta) - true ferns, Pteropsids (Dev. - R)
Phylum Pinophyta - gymnosperms, conifers, cycads, many evergreens
Class Lyginopteriodopsida - seed ferns, (Dev. - Jur.)
Class Cycadopsida - cycads, (Trias. - R)
Class Ginkgoopsida - maidenhair tree, (Penn. - R)
Class Pinopsida - conifers, (Dev.? - R)
Class Gnetophyta - (Perm. - R)
Phylum Anthophyta (Magnoliophyta) - flowering plants, angiosperms (Cret. - R)
Class Magnoliopsida - dicotyledonous plants - roses, sunflowers, maples, pumpkins,
grapes, peas, and other flowering plants (Cret. - R)
Class Liliopsida - monocotyledonous plants bananas, cattails, coconut palm, grasses,
maize, crocus (Cret. - R)
Kingdom Fungi - mushrooms, fungus, soft tissue (?-R)
Phylum Myxomycophyta - slime molds
Phylum Eumycophyta - true fungi