LESSON 3:

INVERTEBRATES
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Invertebrates all share one characteristic: They don´t have a

backbone or an internal skeleton.Most invertebrates lay eggs.

They can be classified into six groups:

ARTHROPODS

MOLLUSCS

SPONGES

CNIDARIANS

ECHINODERMS

ANNELIDS

ARTHROPODS
This is the largest invertebrate group. All arthropods have an
external skeleton called EXOSKELETON.They also have jointed
legs that bend. Some arthropods have simple lungs. Others, like
crabs and lobsters, absorb oxygen through their gills.They are
oviparous.

As the arthropod gets bigger, it sheds its exoskeleton and grows

a new one. Arthropods are divided into four groups:

1. Insects
2. Arachnids
3. Crustaceans
4. Myriapods

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Insects have three body parts: a head, a thorax and an abdomen.

They can also have one or two pair of wings.They also have one
pair of antennae.All insects have three pairs of legs which are
attached to the thorax.

Insects can live on the land or in water.

Some insects can fly.

Examples of insects are: ants, bees, grasshoppers and

dragonflies.

Arachnids have two body parts:an abdomen and a cephalothorax.

A cephalothorax is made up of a head and a thorax.Arachnids

have four pairs of legs and up to eight eyes.

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Most arachnids live on land.

Examples of arachnids are: spiders and scorpions.

Crustaceans have two body parts: an abdomen and a

cephalothorax.Their exoskeleton is very hard, like a shell.They
have two pairs of antennae and five pairs of legs. The front pair
of legs has claws.

Most crustaceans live in water.

Examples of crustaceans are: crabs and shrimps(camarones).

Myriapods have long, thin, segmented bodies. Thay have many

pairs of legs and one pair of antennae.

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They are found in dark, damp places.

Examples of myriapods are: centipedes and millipedes.

MOLLUSCS
Mollucs are soft-bodied invertebrates found on land and in
water.

Most of them have a hard shell.They absorb oxygen through gills

and reproduce by laying eggs.

Snails have a single shell and a single foot which they use to
move. They have tentacles on their heads, and each tentacle has
an eye at the end of it. They also use their tentacles to feel.

Other molluscs, such as mussels, have shells that can open and
close. They have a soft body but no head.

Octopuses don´t have a shell. To move about, they expel jets of

water and move their tentacle.

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SPONGES
When you think of sponges, you probably picture the sponge in
your kitchen. Believe it or not, your kitchen sponge may actually
have come from a sea sponge!

The sponges are the simplest invertebrates. Sea sponges can be

many different colors, sizes, and shapes. Very few animals eat
sponges so they can live for a very long time. They don

Some types have

been found to live
over 200 years!

Their body texture looks very much like the texture of your
kitchen sponge. Both your kitchen sponge and a sea sponge get
that texture from their pores. Pores are tiny holes in the
sponge's body that let water, gases, and food in and out.

Where Do Sea Sponges Live?

The sea sponge is a type of animal that lives in the world's
oceans.Sea sponges can only survive in saltwater, so if you put
them in freshwater, they will quickly die. They are also very

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sensitive to air and do not like to be taken out of the water

because their pores get filled with air. If too many of their
pores are filled with air, they will die.

CNIDARIANS
Most cnidarians live in the sea. They have a soft, jelly-like body
with one opening surrounded by venomous tentacles.
They are divided into two groups: jellyfish and polyps

- Jellyfish are almost transparent and their body is

gelatinous.

Their mouth and their tentacles are in the low part of their
body.

Their tentacles have toxic substances which they use for prey
their food.

- The polyp is related to the anemone, and consists of a

stomach with a mouth at one end.
Polyps live attached to rocks.They also have tentacles and
mouth.But they differ from jellyfish that their mouth and
tentacles are in the upper part of their body.
Polyps make coral.

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ECHINODERMS
 Echinoderm means echino(spiny) and derm means (skin).
 They live in all parts of the ocean, but mostly on the sea
floor.They have an internal structure called endoskeleton,
and they are covered by hard, spiny skin.
 Many echinoderms catch their food by grabbing it with
their tiny tube feet. Starfish and sea urchins are examples
of echinoderms.

 Echinoderms have their mouth at the centre of their

bodies. They pull out their stomachs to digest the food.
 They don´t have brain.
 Some echinoderms such as the brittle stars eat catching
food particles that float in the water
Others, like the starfish capture their prey by bending
their arms to push the food into their mouths.
EXAMPLES:

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- Starfish. They have a spiny body that usually divides into

five equal parts.Their feet are what´s bellow them.The
shape of the feet is like a tube so they can stick to a wall.

IMPORTANT FACT:
When a starfish loses
one of its legs, a new
one will grow on its
place

- Sea urchins have sharp spines covering its hard skeleton

and protect it from attack.

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ANNELIDS
Annelids have a long, soft body with moist skin.

Most annelids live in water(leeches), but they can also live on

land (worms). Some annelids are parasites and live inside the
bodies of other animals.

The animal that the parasite lives inside is called the host.

There are three groups of annelids:

- Flat worms

- Round worms

- Segmented worms

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The earthworm is a segmented worm. It isn´t a parasite.

Annelids don´t have a protective body covering.

Some annelids breathe through their skin(worms), but others

have gills.

Examples of annelids are leeches (sanguijuelas) and

worms(gusanos).

ACTIVITIES
1.Classify these invertebrates and write a sentence to describe
each one.

a) b) c)

d)

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Picture a) shows a/an ……………………………

It has …………………………………………………………………………………………………

Picture b) shows a/an ……………………………

It has …………………………………………………………………………………………………

Picture c) shows a/an ……………………………

It has …………………………………………………………………………………………………

Picture d) shows a/an ……………………………

It has …………………………………………………………………………………………………

2.Classify Arthropods, mollucs, sponges, cnidarians,echinoderms

and annelids in this chart:

SPIDER, SEA ANEMONE, EARTHWORM, SEA CUCUMBER,

STARFISH, SPONGE, OCTOPUS, ANT, CENTIPEDE,
JELLYFISH.

ARTHROPODS
MOLLUSCS
SPONGES
CNIDARIANS
ECHINODERMS
ANNELIDS

3. Label the picture of this ant.

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4.Complete the sentences with the words in the box.

skin backbone
exoskeleton muscular
soft jellyfish
segments shell
thorax umbrella

1.Arthropods have three parts: head, ____________and

abdomen. They also have jointed legs and a
protective____________.

2.Echinoderms are protected by hard ____________.

3._______ have a ____________ body called

the____________. They also have long tentacles.

4. Annelids have a long, soft body divided into____________.

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5. Molluscs have a soft, ____________body. It is often

protected by a hard_____.

6. Invertebrates haven't got a ____________

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