University of Zakho

College of Basic Education

Department of General Science

Invertebrate
Second Stage
2020-2021
1st +2nd Lecture

Dr. Basim Saleem Ahmed

PhD in Aquatic Molecular Physiology
 Invertebrates
Invertebrates are animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral
column (commonly known as a backbone  or spine), derived from
the notochord .
Familiar examples of invertebrates include:
• Arthropods (insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and myriapods ), 
•Mollusks (snails, bivalves, squids , and octopuses), 
•Annelids (earthworms and leeches),
•Cnidarians (hydras, jellyfishes , sea anemones , and corals).
The majority of animal species are invertebrates
• characteristics of invertebrates.
•  1. Habitat  2. Numerical Strength
• 3. Shape 4. Size
• 5. Symmetry  6. Grades of Organization
•  7. The Presence or Absence of Germ Layers
• 8. Simple Integument 
• 9. Multiple Movement Device 
• 10. The Presence or Absence of Segmentation and
Others.
1. Habitat:
• All the 30 phyla most probably originated in the sea.
• About 80 per cent are found in the terrestrial habitats.

2. Numerical Strength:
• At present nearly one million living species of animals
are known, out of which about 95 per cent constitute
the invertebrates.
3. Shape:
• Animals of varied shapes are included amongst the
invertebrates.
• Amoeba possesses an irregular ever-changing body
shape,
• sponges and coelenterates display plant-like
appearance.
• flatworms are leaf-like shaped
• the starfishes are star-shaped, etc.,
4. Size:
The invertebrate animals exhibit a great variation in size.
They range from microscopic protozoans to large-sized
cephalopods.
5. The Presence or Absence of Germ Layers:
• The germ layers or embryonic cell layers are
absent in Protozoa due to its unicellularity.
• All other invertebrates are either diploblastic, i.e.,
they are derived form two germ layers, an outer
ectoderm and an inner endoderm or triploblastic
with an extra third layer, the mesoderm. Sponges
are diploblastic, whereas other invertebrates are
triploblastic.
6. Simple Integument:
• The body covering of invertebrate animals is
simple.
• In protozoa, it is a delicate plasma
membrane, while some have developed a
protective covering, pellicle.
• Most invertebrates possess an outer
protective epidermis.
7. Multiple Movement Devices:
• Various devices for movement are found in
invertebrates. Some invertebrate animals are
sessile, such as sponges and corals, while others
move from one place to another.
• Protozoa move by pseudopodia, flagella and cilia
8. The Presence or Absence of Segmentation:
• The members of several invertebrate phyla are
characterised by segmentation in their bodies.
• Certain flatworms exhibit pseudo
segmentation, as their long bodies are made
up of numerous sections.
9. Absence of Living Endoskeleton:
• The invertebrate animals do not possess any kind of
rigid internal skeleton to give support to the body
and provide surface for attachment of muscles.
• Many invertebrates are soft bodied, while some,
like arthropods and molluscs, possess hard
exoskeleton for supporting and protecting their
body.
10. Types of Coelom:
• In sponges and coelenterates, the body is a
double-layered sac surrounding a single
cavity.
• Such animals are acoelomate as they have
no coelom.
11. Intra-as well as Extracellular Digestion:
• In invertebrates, the digestion of food takes place
within the cell (intracellular digestion) as well as
outside the cell (extracellular digestion). In
protozoans and sponges, the digestion of food
takes place intracellularly.
• In coelenterates, the digestion of food lakes place
both intracellularly as well as extracellularly.
12. Open as well as Closed Circulatory System:
• Blood vascular system is well developed in
higher invertebrates. Some, like arthropods
and molluscs, possess open or lacunar
circulatory system, while in others the blood
flows in closed vessels.
13. Protozoans, sponges, coelenterates and
many worms have a direct diffusion of gases
between the general surface of the organism
and the environment.
• In most annelids, the exchange of gases takes
place through the moist skin. Gills are common
in most higher invertebrates.
 Protist
• they are primarily microscopic and unicellular,
or made up of a single cell. The cells of protists
are highly organized with a nucleus and
specialized cellular machinery called
organelles. 
 Protist
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Protist
Superphylum: Alveolata
Phylum: Ciliophora
Class: Hymenostomida
Family: Parameciidae

Trichocysts:tis an organelle that releases long filamentous 

proteins that capture predators in "nets"
Genus: Paramecium
General characteristics of Paramecium

1-body is shipper shaped about 300 micro

meter in length. Anterior part

2- they are rounded

anteriorly and pointed
posteriorly

Posterior part
General characteristics of Paramecium
3-The body is covered by pellicle.

4- The locomotary organelles of these animals are cilia.

 General characteristics of Paramecium

5- protoplasm is divided into ecto and endo plasm

6- ectoplasms contains basal bodies of

cillia andtrichocysts
 General characteristics of Paramecium

7-endoplasms contains two nuclei,

-- one is large ovoid or kidney shaped
called macronucleus (vegetative nucleus),
--the other is small round shape called
micronucleus (reproductive nucleus)
Both micronucleus and macronucleus
located near the middle of the body.

8- two contractile vacuoles, the anterior

and posterior contractile vacuoles are
found in endoplasm (one near each
ends of the body)
9- on the ventral side there is a
groove called oral groove.

10- The oral groove leads to

cytostome (cell mouth) which
leads to cytopharynx at the end of
each food vacuole are formed
11- nutrition is holozoic
(hetrotrophic)
12- asexual reproduction by
simple transverse binary
fission
13- sexual reproduction
conjugation

Heterotrophic nutrition is the mode of

nutrition in which organisms depend upon
other organisms for food to survive. 
Binary fission of paramecium
1-Paramecium reproduce asexually by transverse simple
binary fission.

2-micronucleus and macronucleus elongate and divide by

mitosis and amitosis, respectively
3- a median transverse constriction appears which divides
the body transversely into two equal halves
4- each have recives a daughter micro-macro nucleus and a
contractile vacuole
5- cytopharynx also divides into two
6- by the line of separation, each half develops all the
essential structures
sexual reproduction of paramecium by conjucation
Genus: Trypanosoma Scientific classification
General Characteristics of Trypanosoma :Domain Eukaryota

:Kingdom Protista
-has a slender elongated spirally twisted spindle-1 :Phylum Sarcomastigophora
shaped body, tapering at both ends, posterior end is
:Class Zoomastigophora
.slightly round
:Order Kinetoplastida
.The length ranging from 15-30 micro meter -2
:Genus Trypanosoma
General Characteristics of Trypanosoma

The body is covered by pellicle which extends -3

outside undergoes folding forming the
undulating membrane
 General Characteristics of Trypanosoma

flagellum is one and originate from the basal body -4

close to which is another granule ,)blepharoplast(
.or body called parabasal body (kinetoplast)
The bodies together form the kinetosome
,flagellum runs on the outside of the undulating membrane -5
and extends as a short thin thread anteriorly

undulating membrane
 General Characteristics of Trypanosoma
both the undulating membrane and -6
flagellum are used in locomotion
nucleus is large ovoid near the middle -7
of the body
 General Characteristics of Trypanosoma
protoplasm is composed of ecto and endoplasm -8
endoplasm contains nucleus and volutin granules -9
trypanosoma causes trypanosomiasis (sleeping sickness) -10
nutrition by absorption. Its blood parasite and extra cellular -11
African sleeping sickness caused by
Trypanasoma
 :Domain Eukaryota
• Plasmodium
:Kingdom protists
1. Plasmodium is an intracellular
blood parasite Phylum: Apicomplexa
2-It reproduce in the liver cell and Red Subphylum Sporozoa
blood cells (RBC) :Class Telospoidia
3-It causes malaria
:Order Eucoccida
4-Its transmitted by female anopheles
mosquitoes :Family Plasmodiidae
5-Some stage : ring stage , amoeboid stage, :Genus Plasmodium
Schizont in RBC

Apicomplexa
are a large group of protists ,possess
aunique organelle called apicoplast , structure
involved in penetrating a host's cell
 Some species of palsmodium
• P vivax cause of tertian fever
• P falciparum cause of malignant tertian fever
• P malaria cause malaria
• P ovale cause tertian fever
Some stages of the life cycle of plasmodium
Plasmodium is an intracellular blood parasite of man and other-1
vertebrate and causes ------------malaria
its life cycle is completed in two hosts -2
adefinitive host (man or vertebrate) =
intermediate invertebrate (female of anopheles) host =
when an infected female bite a man sporozoites are introduced into -3
. the blood stream, they reach the liver and multiply to form merozoites
after few schizogenous cycle in the liver the merozoites enter the -4
RBC and feed on their content
as the merozoite enter RBC it change to -5
ring stage and then to( b)-an amoeboid stage and then to (c) a -)a(
schizont stage