Marine Taxonomy
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Order
Family
Genus
Species
Phylum Echinoderm “spiny skin”
Sea stars, brittle stars, urchins, cucumbers, sand dollars
 Pentamerous symmetry
 Water vascular system regulated by the madreporite
 Tube feet, regulated by the water vascular system
 Ability to regenerate, i.e. arms (Sea Star) or intestines (Sea
Cucumber)
Phylum Mollusca”soft”
Whelks, abalone, limpets, sea snails, cowries, sea hares, nudibranchs,
clams, oysters, mussels, scallops, octopus, squid, nautilus
 Radula This file like tongue aids in the process of scraping algae
from rocks and dislodging sessile animals.
 Soft bodies, most of which are protected by a shell, those without
have other physical adaptations to deter predation
 Muscle foot
 Hemopheliacs
Class Gastropod”stomach foot”
Whelks, abalone, limpets, sea snails, cowries
This is the largest class within the mollusc phylum, reaching almost
50,000 species, 15,000 fossil forms and 35,000 living species.
Subclass Nudibranch “naked gill”
Spanish shoals, dorids
 Instead of shells have developed complex chemical and biological
defenses
 Sea Hares are closely related to the nudibranchs. Also lacking shells,
they have other means of protection such as, secreting a distasteful
milky substance as well as a purple dye. To further deter predators
they store noxious organic compounds in their mantle that they
acquired from algae.
Class Cepahalapod
Squids, octopus
 Have no shells
 Move about by jet propulsion
Class Bivalve
Mussels, scallops, oysters
 Have two shells on a hinge
Phylum Arthropoda
Which includes all terrestrial insects, this is the most abundant group on
Earth, in total number of individuals and total number of species.
Class Crustacean
Shrimp, lobster, crab, barnacles
 These creatures have an exoskeleton and jointed appendages.
 Within exoskeleton they have calcium carbonate giving it a rigid
structure and crusty texture, hence the name crustacean.
Phylum Cnidaria
Jelly fish, sea anemones
 Radial symmetry
 Sac-like gut food and waste go in and out of the same place.
 Two basic types of body forms
1. Free swimming Medusa jelly fish
2. Sessile polyp anemone
 Every Cnidarian will experience both body types through out their life
cycle.
 Have nematocysts, which are stinging cells that help protect itself
from predation and stun prey as well.