THE KINGDOM

ANIMALIA
• The Animal kingdom comprises of all animal species found
in the planet.
• It is the largest among all biological kingdoms.
• They are classified as eukaryotic organisms, with a
multicellular structure and a heterotrophic nutrition.
• The kingdom is also known as Metazoa.
• This kingdom does not include prokaryotic organisms.
CHARACTERISTI
CS OF ANIMALS
• They have limited growth.
• They move from one place to another, except for
few aquatic organisms that are sessile.
• Some are bilaterally symmetrical and some are
radially symmetrical.
• They have a high level of interaction.
• Their animal cells from complex structures.
• They have respiratory organs.
• They perform sexual reproduction, and some
asexual reproduction.
CLASSIFICATION
OF THE ANIMAL
KINGDOM
• Animals are classified into two
main groups: the vertebrates and
invertebrates.
• Their classification depends on
whether they have a backbone,
and an internal skeleton made up
of bones.
• Using scientific criterion, the
animal kingdom is divided into 40
groups or phyla.
ANIMAL KINGDOM:
INVERTEBRATES

• More than 90% of animal species belong to this

group.
• They can live in both aquatic and terrestrial
environments.
• Two main characteristics are common to all
invertebrates:
• They do not have a backbone.
• They are ectotherms, or cold-blooded animals.
• Most of the known invertebrates belong to eight
phyla: porifera, cnidarians, flatworms, nematodes,
annelids, molluscs, arthropods, and echinoderms.
INVERTEBRATE
S: PORIFERA
• They are the simplest invertebrate animals, also
known as sponges.
• They are aquatic sessile animals that do not have
true tissues or organs.
• They are either asymmetrical or have radial
symmetry.
• Their bodies are sac-shaped and have many holes
or pores.
• They have an internal skeleton that protects them,
which can be composed of rigid spines called
spicules, or flexible fibres called spongin.
• They feed by using filtration process.
• They can either perform sexual or asexual
reproduction.
INVERTEBRATES:
CNIDARIANS
• They are aquatic animals that have radial
symmetry, with cells grouped in simple tissues.
• Some can have organs, having a digestive cavity,
cnidoblasts and are all carnivores.
• They can be subdivided into polyps and jellyfish.
• Polyps are sac-shaped sessile cnidarians, with
some having an internal skeleton while others
having a mineral external skeleton.
• Jellyfishes are umbrella-shaped sea cnidarians
having a hydrostatic skeleton.
• Jellyfishes generally perform sexual reproduction
while polyps divide asexually.
INVERTEBRATES
: WORMS
• Worms does not correspond to
any taxonomical category, but is
used to classify the members of
three different phyla: flatworms,
nematodes, and annelids, all
having the following
characteristics:
1. They have bilateral
symmetry;
2. They tend to live in humid
climates; and
3. They do not have jointed
appendages.
 • They are the simplest animals
that have bilateral symmetry and
cephalization of the nervous
system.
• The most well-known groups of
flatworms are tapeworms and
planarians.
• Tapeworms are parasites that live
in the intestines of many animals,
including humans.
• They self-fertilise and the eggs are
released into the faeces of the
infected person.
• Planarians are flatworms that
inhabit humid climates and can
be fond in seas, rivers and lakes.
WORMS: FLATWORMS
WORMS: NEMATODES
• They are worms with unsegmented cylindrical bodies.
• Some of them are parasites, but others live independently
of any host.
• They have the following characteristics:
• Their digestive system has a mouth and an anus,
feeding on the host’s blood, or on other liquids in
plants and animals.
• They perform sexual reproduction.
• Pinworms, whipworms, and heartworms are nematode
parasites.
WORMS:
ANNELIDS
• They are worms with segmented
cylindrical bodies that are divided into
segments called metameres.
• Some annelids can live in aquatic
environments and some in humid
terrestrial environments.
• They have the following characteristics:
• They have a digestive tube
• They breathe through gills or
carry out cutaneous respiration
• The majority perform sexual
reproduction, and some through
cross-fertilisation.
• Examples are leeches and
earthworms.