Invertebrates – are animals that do not

have backbone or they do not have

internal skeleton.
Invertebrates can be classified into nine groups.

1. Protozoans
2. Poriferans
3. Coelenterates
4. Platyhelminths
5. Nematodes
6. Annelids
7. Echinoderms
8. Mollusks
9. Arthropods
1. Protozoa
- cannot be seen by our naked-eye.
- they are helpful because they eat dangerous
bacteria but also harmful because they can
transmit disease.
- can cause diseases in the intestines like
amoebiasis and giardiasis

Examples:
amoeba, paramecium, euglena
• Amoeba
- is a protozoan with clear shapeless cell.
- a single-celled organism that can move slowly along
a surface using pseudopodia or false feet.
• Paramecium
- Is a slipper-shaped protozoan that moves by means
of cilia, or short hairlike projections.
- Cilia work like tiny paddles that move the
paramecium through the water and sweep food into its
long mouth-like opening.
• Euglena
- is a cylindrical-shaped protozoa that has a flagellum
or whiplike extension used for movement.
- the flagellum helps the euglena to propel water.
2. Poriferans
- also called as pore-bearing animals.
- bodies of poriferans are thick-walled bags with pores
that serve as the entrance of water that carries the
food materials.
- Poriferans varied in colors.
• Sponges
- are simple organisms made up of many cells.
- do not move from place to place; fixed in one place
and are usually attached to rocks or objects in ocean,
lakes, and rivers.
- vary in shape and size
- There are sponges with soft framework made of
rubberlike spongin, a protein fiber.
- Other sponges have a framework of hard spikelike
spicules, a substance with calcium carbonate or
silica.
- Sponges feed on very fine particles in the water
such as bacteria, dinoflagellates, and other very
small plankton.
3. Coelenterates – or cnidarians are radially
symmetrical animals with tentacles around their mouth.

Examples:
Jellyfish, Hydra, Corals
• Jellyfish
- are marine coelenterates with bodies that are
hollow umbrella-shaped bags.
- their tentacles can sting to other animals and inject
a poisonous substance.
- tentacles help them move and capture food.
• Hydra
- has a slender cylindrical body with threadlike
tentacles around the mouth that are used to catch
its prey.
- stays in most unpolluted freshwater ponds, lakes,
and streams.
- a mature hydra produces buds on the body wall
that break away and become new organism.
• Hydra
- has a slender cylindrical body with threadlike
tentacles around the mouth that are used to catch
its prey.
- stays in most unpolluted freshwater ponds, lakes,
and streams.
- a mature hydra produces buds on the body wall
that break away and become new organism.
• Corals
- are very tiny animals that usually live in groups.
- they feed on tiny floating organisms called
zooplanktons.
- when corals die, their skeletons remain and form
coral reefs.
4. Platyhelminths
- platyhelminths are parasitic.
- they live in intestines and feed on the digested food
of their hosts.

Examples:
Flukes, tapeworms, planarians
• Flukes
- is a worm that invades the liver, bile duct,
gallbladder, intestine, or lung of certain animals.
- it is shaped like a leaf, pointed at the tail-end part,
wider near the head.
- This flatworm is a parasite that feeds on blood and
produces eggs in the infested organs.
• Tapeworm
- a symmetrical and long ribbonlike flatworm that
infests the intestines of human and other
vertebrates.
- It gets into the body of a person who eats or drinks
something that is infected with the worm’s larvae or
eggs.
• Planarian
- Simplest flatworm that can be found in freshwater
or saltwater.
- it has a soft, flat, and wedge-shaped body that may
be black, brown, gray or white.
5. Nematodes (roundworm)

Example:
ascarides, filarial worms, hookworms
• Ascaris
- Is round, elongated, and cylindrical intestinal worm
that infects humans.
- Adult ascarides are usually creamy white or pinkish
in color.
- Male ascarides are slender and shorter than the
female ones.
- Ascarides reside in the intestines of humans,
leading to a condition known as ascariasis (an
infection in the lining of the intestines).
- The infection begins when the eggs or larvae of
ascarides are transmitted through ingestion of
contaminated raw food or soil particles.
• Filarial worms
- Small threadlike roundworms that are carried as
larvae by mosquitoes and other biting insects.
- The larvae enter the skin and develops in the
lymphatic vessels.
- When tis happens, the infected person may
develop tissue swelling or elephantiasis
(enlargement of the limbs and male genitals).
• Hookworms
- Are parasites that infect humans by damaging the
lining of the intestine and sucking.
- Grayish white or pinkish roundworms with slightly
bent and hook-shaped heads.
- This worms have a well-developed mouth with two-
pairs of teeth.
- Female hookworms are longer than the male
hookworms.
6. Annelids
- Are invertebrates that have long cylindrical bodies
that are divided into segments.
- Leeches and earthworms belong to this group of
animal.
• Leeches
- Are parasitic segmented worms that are known as
“blood suckers”.
- Leeches are usually flattened and dark in color,
often black or dark green.
- They live in shallow, slow-moving freshwater, but
certain leeches live in the ocean and in moist soil.
• Earthworm
- Are tubelike, segmented annelids that are found in
soil.
- They often get out at night; hence, they are
commonly called “night crawlers”. The earthworms’
waste called cast makes the soil fertile.
7. Echinoderms
- Are marine invertebrates with spines.
- They use their spines as protection from predators.
- They have tube feet like or “podia” with suckers
that are used to move.
- Their bodies have an exoskeleton or an external
hard supporting structure.
- They have the ability to regenerate.
Examples:
starfish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, sea lilies
Examples:
starfish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, sea lilies
8. Mollusks
- Are animals with soft fleshy bodies that are usually
covered by shells.
- They are divided into 3 groups: univalves, bivalves,
and head-footed mollusks.
• Univalves
- Covered with one piece of shell.

Examples:
slugs and snails
• Slugs
– are mollusks that have internal shell and soft slimy
body.
- Have 2 pairs of “feelers” or tentacles on their
heads.
- The upper feelers is used for light sensing and the
lower feeler provides the sense of smell.
• Snails
- Are small soft mollusks that have flattened
muscular foot with ahead that bears stalked
eyespots.
- They have a hard round shell on their back.
• Bivalves
- Covered with two pieces of shells.

Examples: Clams, mussels, oysters

• Clams
- Marine mollusks that consist of two equal halves of
shells and have muscles that contract to close the
shells.
- They have along tubular siphon that is used to suck
food, breath and eliminate wastes.
• Mussels
- Marine mollusks that have dark shells.
- They attached themselves to rocks or other hard
surfaces through fine thread called “byssus”.
• Oysters
- Bivalves with shells that are usually oval or pear-
shaped and whitish gray in color.
- They are found in shallow waters, forming large
colonies.
• Head-footed mollusks
- Are those body structure not covered by shell.

Examples:
squids, octopuses
• Squids
- They have arms that are connected to their head
that is used to move.
- When frightened, they will move quickly and squirt
dark ink that hides their escapes.
• Octopuses
- Similar to squids.
9. Arthropods
- Characterized by segmented chitinous exoskeleton
and jointed appendages.
- It may help to remember that the term “arthropod”
comes from the Greek words for “jointed foot.” If
the organism has an exoskeleton with joints
between its feet and its body, it is probably an
arthropod!

Examples:
insects, crustaceans, arachnids, myriapods
• Insects

Examples:
Flies, ants, butterflies, beetles, crickets, cockroaches,
mosquitoes
• Crustaceans

Examples:
Crabs, lobsters, shrimps, barnacles, prawns
• Arachnids

Examples:
Spiders, scorpions, ticks, mites
• Myriapods

Examples:
Centipedes, millipedes