invertebrates Flashcards
(23 cards)
vertebrates
an animal of a large group distinguished by the possession of a backbone or spinal column, including mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes.
invertebrates
animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column, derived from the notochord.
consumer
an organism that feeds on plants or other animals for energy.
ganglion
a structure containing a number of nerve cell bodies, typically linked by synapses, and often forming a swelling on a nerve fiber.
gut
an organ system within humans and other animals which takes in food, digests it to extract and absorb energy and nutrients, and expels the remaining waste as feces.
coelom
the body cavity in metazoans, located between the intestinal canal and the body wall.
bilateral symmetry
the property of being divisible into symmetrical halves on either side of a unique plane.
radial symmetry
symmetry around a central axis, as in a starfish or a tulip flower.
asymmetry
lack of equality or equivalence between parts or aspects of something.
sponges
multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through them, consisting of jelly-like mesohyl sandwiched between two thin layers of cells.
Cnidarians
a phylum under Kingdom Animalia containing over 11,000 species of animals found exclusively in aquatic environments.
flatworms
a phylum of relatively simple bilaterian, unsegmented, soft-bodied invertebrates.
roundworms
a diverse animal phylum inhabiting a broad range of environments.
mollusks
soft-bodied invertebrates of the phylum Mollusca, usually wholly or partly enclosed in a calcium carbonate shell secreted by a soft mantle covering the body.
Open circulatory system
Open circulatory systems pump blood into a hemocoel with the blood diffusing back to the circulatory system between cells.
Closed circulatory system
Closed circulatory systems have the blood closed at all times within vessels of different size and wall thickness.
annelid worms
a large phylum with over 22,000 extant species including ragworms, earthworms, and leeches.
exoskeleton
a rigid external covering for the body in some invertebrate animals, especially arthropods, providing both support and protection.
compound eye
a visual organ found in arthropods such as insects and crustaceans.
antenna
either of a pair of long, thin sensory appendages on the heads of insects, crustaceans, and some other arthropods.
Metamorphosis
the process of transformation from an immature form to an adult form in two or more distinct stages.
endoskeleton
an internal skeleton, such as the bony or cartilaginous skeleton of vertebrates.
Water vascular system
a network of water vessels in the body, the tube feet being operated by hydraulic pressure within the vessels.
