1.
This compilation of 10-7 handouts is missing some, because I do not have them. This covers
Poifera/Cnideria, Amphibians, Mollusca, Echinoderms. This does NOT have REPTILES, BIRDS, AND
FISHES. I suggest you get information on these groups from your textbook or from other classes’
handouts. – Mr. Jewett
Porifera and Cnidaria
Handout
Ivaylo Danailov, Boris Bozhinov
Porifera – sponge;
Symetry : A sponge has either radial symmetry or is asymmetrical;
Approximately 635 MYO;
About 550 MY ago, humans shared common ancestor.
Porifera Details:
Skeleton made of lime/silicon
Has numerous holes(pores) in it’s hollow body
Reproduction:
Sexual/Asexual- produces gemmules
Spores are generally hermaphrodites
Life Cycle
Lifespan can be from 2 to 200 years
Eggs are flowing in water until they find a sponge of the same species to attach to. They grow inside the
sponge
Food
Enters the sponge through series of canals and pores
>50 micrometers- consumed by phagocytosis
Between 0.5-50 consumed by the sponge
< 0.5- consumed by coanocytes

2.
Representative
Tube sponge- most common sponge
Cnidaria- jellyfish, polyps, corals, anemones
Symetry: Radial
Approximately 580 MYO
Closest to Coelenterata phylum
Characteristics
Venom cells (NEMATOCYSTS or CNIDOCYTES)
Either medusas or polyps
Lack of organs
Reproduction
Sexual- going from polyp to medusa
Asexual- simply split in half- just like cells!
Locomotion
Medusas- by jet propulsion
Rest of cnidarians are polyps- they can perform limited movement by crawling or creeping.
Food
Most are predators- they hunt with the help of cnidocytes
Passive predators- they wait for their food to come to them
Sessile cnidarians are filtrating water
Species
Lion’s mane (Cyanea Capillata)- biggest medusa on the planet(35 meters long tentacles), lives in cold
waters, has toxic venom,
feeds on zooplankton and small fish
Portuguese Man o’War (Physalia Physalis)- it is not a jellyfish, more like a colony of specialized organisms.
Lives in tropical/subtropical waters. Feeds on shrimp and small fish. Dependant on winds and currents for
movement.
Human Interactions
They harm ecosystems because of their rapid growth in number the recent years.

3.
Considered a delicacy in China.
Vocabulary
Mesohyl-gelatinous matrix of a sponge; Cnidocytes- stinging cells of
Cnidarians;
Sessile-unable to move; Gemmules- internal buds found in sponges;
Phagocytosis- engulfing of particles by the cell walls;
Ostia-an opening in sponge’s skin; Choanocytes-cells that create water
flow in the sponges.
Diploblastic-having 2 germ layers-ectoderm and endoderm
Mesoglea- the jellylike substance that composes the bodies of jellyfish
Gland cells- produce enzymes that disintegrate food inside the jellyfish
Karina Atanasova
Siyana Markova 10/7
Amphibians
1. Etymology
• What does “amphibian” mean?
“amphibian” (Greek) = both ways of life
Life in water and on land as well
2. Life Cycle
• egg in water à aquatic larvae à development of lungs and limbs à adult
• Metamorphosis is observed
3. Digestion
• take food through the mouth
• frog has a long tongue with which it grabs insects for exampl e
• digestive system – stomach and intestines
4. Reproduction
• Sexually
• Eggs fertilized out of mother’s body (eggs are also called “spawn”)

4.
• Eggs layed in moist environments
• Eggs dehydrate quickly because they don’t have shells
5. Characteristics
• Symmetry: bilateral
• Born in water but end up living on land.
• Skin: has glands; no feathers or hair; permeable and allows water and gas exchange
(estivation = they “hide” during the summer so that their skin is moist; similar to
hibernation when the body functions “slow down”)
• Eggs: no shell or membranes=> it should be kept in a moist environment.
• Use gills to get oxygen from the water
• Amphibians are cold blooded (ectothermic)
6. Representatives
• Toad
o Latin Name: Bufo Bufo
o Habitat: Fields, hedgerows, gardens and woodlands
o Food: Worms, slugs and insects.
o Range: throughout England, Scotland and Wales, but not in Ireland.
o Locomotion: Jumping; hopping; swimming; burrowing; climbing
• Common Frogs
o Latin Name: Rana temporaria
o Habitat: Shallow fresh water, including brooks, springs,
and ponds
o Food: insects, slugs and small worms
o Range: Southeastern Canada; eastern U.S.; Central and
Northern Europe including Great Britain and Ireland
o Locomotion: Jumping; hopping; swimming; burrowing; climbing
• Smooth (Common) Newt
o Latin Name: Triturus vulgaris

5.
o Habitat: near ponds and streams; spend the winter under stones or logs (places with warmer
temperature)
o Food: Slugs, worms and insects
o Range: Found throughout the UK; Southeastern Canada and eastern U.S.
o Locomotion: creeping; swimming
• Salamander
o Latin name: Salamandra
o Habitat: usually under stones
o Food: insects, spiders, worms
o Range: North America, parts of South America,
Asia, Europe, North Africa,
o Locomotion: creeping, walking
7. Human Interactions/Uses of Amphibians; Common Ancestors
• Humans use some amphibians (frogs) for food
• Amphibians share a common ancestor with mammals (Paleozoic era – about 300
MYA), that share common ancestors with humans
8. Fun Facts
• Certain frogs can jump up to 20 times their own body length in a single leap.
• Some frogs and salamanders have tongues 10 times the length of their body.
• Most frogs can change their color to match their surroundings.
• In most species of frogs only the male croaks because croaking attracts female frogs
during mating season.
• The biggest frogs reach 1m in length, while the smallest are 12mm.
9. Vocabulary
• Amphibians = organisms that live both on land and in water
• Gills = an anatomical structure that helps the aquatic organisms to get oxygen from the
water
• Estivation = the process of hiding in the summer (resembles hibernating) in order for the
amphibians to be moist

6.
• Metamorphosis = an extreme change in body form from one life stage to the next (tadpole to
frog)
• Ectothermic = cold blooded
• Herpetology = the study of amphibians and reptiles
• Spawn = amphibian eggs
• Terrestrial = living on land
• Hibernation = the process of “slow down” of the body functions
• Caudata = amphibians that have tails
Mollusca Phylum
Phylum’s Name: The name of the phylum comes from the Latin word molluscus, from mollis,
meaning soft. Mollusca actually comes from “malakia” (“soft things”) used by Aristotle for
describing a cuttlefish. (“Mollusca”).
Symmetry: The representatives from this phylum have bilateral symmetry (like humans). In other
words, the two sides of the organism, divided by one plane, are roughly the same. (“Body
Symmetry”)
Place in the cladogram: Representatives from the Mollusca phylum appeared somewhere between
542 and 488.3 million years ago. This phylum is most closely related to Arthtopods, yet
Mollusks are more inferior to them. Only the jellyfish and the sponges are more inferior to the
Mollusks in the Animal kingdom. People shared common ancestor with this group around 550
m yrs ago. (Driscoll)

7.
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Unique Characteristics : The Mollusks contain a lot of strange and extraordinary characteristics that
distinguish them from the other phylum. They have organs, nervous and vascular systems, but
also many other different characteristics such as:
- soft body usually protected by external calcium-containing skeleton (shell);
- 3 distinct body parts: head-foot [sensory & motor organs] ; visceral mass [organs of
digestion, excretion and reproduction]; mantle [specialized tissue that secrets the shell and
holds the body of the organism together] (+mantel cavity [houses the gills]);
- radula – toothed tongue; for digestion and sometimes for protection; (“Phylum”)
- have at least two main nerve cords (3 in bivalves); (“Mollusca”)
Reproduction: Less complex and simple mollusca organisms reproduce externally. More complex
organisms reproduce internally and/or are hermaphrodites. Mollusca produce eggs and some of
them – larvae. Typically they reproduce between April and November. Octopi reproduce sexually.
Snails reproduce externally by letting their sperm and eggs out in the water (fertilization is not
always achieved). The land snails who are hermaphrodites prefer to find a partner rather than mate
with themselves. They reproduce internally (“Mollusca Reproduction”).
Locomotion: Smaller mollusks have cilia with which they move. Others use their foot (a muscle on
their down part of the body) to move. This “foot” has a pair of statocysts and it secrets mucus. Some,
such as octopi, use their arms to swim or float. (“Driscoll”)
Nervous System: the mollusca organisms have two nervous cords – the visceral and the pedal ones.

8.
1st Representative: Blue Mussels (Mytilus edulis) – North Atlantic coast of North America, Europe,
and other sees and oceans with temperate or polar waters; live attached to rocks or other hard
objects in the water; eat plankton; moves by sticking out its foot outside of the shell and
pulling along with it; filtrates the water and is food for some organisms in the seas; stages –
larval stage (no hard shell) -> young mussel (small and growing) -> adult mussel; (“Blue
Mussels”)
2nd Representative: Grove snail (Cepaea nemoralis) – grassland, hedgerows and woodlands (mainly in
Europe); eat decaying vegetation, fungi, plant leaves, etc.; not stationary, lives moving from
place to place; moves using its foot part of the body, usually in wave locomotion; provides food
for birds and hedgehogs; egg – small snail with really soft shell (need of calcium) –> adult snail;
(“Life Cycle”)
3rd Representative: Broadclub Cuttlefish (Sepia latimanus) - corral reefs in the Indo-Pacific ocean;
eats small fishes and crustaceans; bright colors; moves into the water by moving its foot in
wave locomotion; eggs – small cuttlefish – adult cuttlefish; (“Squids and Cuttlefish")
Human Interactions: used for food, production of medicaments and drugs, pearls, shells – valuable
items; sometimes they bite people and sometime the venom is so poisonous that the person
dies; (“Mollusca”)
Fun Facts:
• Octopi
 They have three hearts
 Their blood is light blue, just like aristocrats J
 They have 80 tentacles, each of which has 240 sucking cups (a total of 1920) used
for catching their victim.
 Just like sea stars, if their arm is cut, they can regenerate it
• Slugs
 They have four noses
 A disgusting fact: sometimes right before mating slugs each other’s slime
• Snails
 Snails have the ability to slide on the edge of a blade and still not get hurt
 If a person hums quietly to a snail for a little bit of time, the animal will come out
of its shell.

9.
Some New Words
1) Mollusca – the marine phylum which has the greatest animal diversity
2) Head-foot - sensory & motor organs
3) Visceral Mass - organs of digestion, excretion and reproduction
4) Mantle - specialized tissue that secrets the shell and holds the body of the organism
together
5) Mantel Cavity - houses the gills
6) Radula – toothed tongue; for digestion and sometimes for protection
7) Statocyts – sac-like balance organs
8) Mucus – slippery secretion, lubricant
9) Pedal cords – cords serving the foot
10) Hermaphrodites – an animal or plant that has both male and female reproductive
organs
Echinoderms
• Echinoderm (Gr.) means spiny skin
• starfishes, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers
• Start with bilateral symmetry and progress to
radial symmetry in their adult form
• Close to Annelida and Arthropoda

10.
• We shared a common ancestor 500 million yrs ago
Reproduction
Sexual reproduction – involves mass spawning
► spawn - to produce offspring in large numbers
• female eggs and male sperm are released
• water currents and animals help them combine
• fertilization occurs in the water, making an embryo
• there must be many individuals in a place for this reproductive method to be successful
Asexual reproduction – regeneration of missing or injured body parts
Eating and Digestion
Variety of Ways to Eat
- browse for their food
► suspension feeders - take food particles from water
(by using their arms or using vacuum)
► parasites - organisms feeding from others by being
in/on them
Starfish sit on top of their food and digest some of it externally.
► deposit feeders remove food particles from a sediment
(► Aristotle's lantern - mouth is equipped with five teeth operated by a complex system of plates
and muscles )

11.
Aristotle’s lantern
Nervous System and Movement
The nervous system of echinoderms is decentralized.
► decentralized nervous system – there is no brain and no specified spot in the body filled with
more nerves than the others
They move slowly with the help of their water vascular system.
Crown-of-Thorns Starfish (Acanthaster planci)
• From class Asteroidea
• Has 12-19 arms and is up to 45cm across
• Eats corals
• Great concentration in the Great Barrier Reef and the southern Pacific
• Red and has big spines
• seemingly threatening the destruction of coral reefs and islands.
Heart urchin (Brissopsis lyrifera)
• order Spatangoidea
• body is usually oval or heart-shaped
• live in burrows lined with mucus
• small particles of food picked by tentacles
• occurs in all oceans
Sea Urchin
Sea Cucumber (various scientific names)
• class Holothuroidea
• 2 to 200 cm long and 1 to 20 cm thick
• Eat mud containing nutrients or small aquatic animals
• found in all oceans and depths, mainly in the Indian Ocean and the western Pacific.

12.
Why do we care?
- disgusting as they are usually found on the shore and cause pain when stepped on or touched (sea
urchins in particular)
- sea urchins and sea cucumbers are a delicacy in some countries, important for the industry of
countries they’re found in
- shells - source of lime instead of limestone
Sea cucumbers get rid of their gastrointestinal tract because their body considers it an external
enemy. It then grows a new one.
Vocabulary Words
• bilateral symmetry – when a line is drawn in the middle of an organism (or object) and both
sides are the same
• pentamerous - having 5 arms, which radiate from a central body (2 on the left side of the
body, 2-right, 1-center)
• suspension feeders - take food particles from water
• parasites - organisms feeding from others by being in/on them
• deposit feeders remove food particles from a sediment
• Aristotle's lantern - mouth is equipped with five teeth operated by a complex system of
plates and muscles
• spawn - to produce offspring in large numbers
• decentralized nervous system – there is no brain and no specified spot in the body filled with
more nerves than the others
• water vascular system – a system of holes and channels which fills itself with sea water. It is
useful for various purposes.
• tentacle – an flexible extension of the body used mostly for locomotion, but also to sense the
environment