There is so much diversity among invertebrates. This diversity prevents classifying them under a single over-arching category. Scientists have identified more than 30 phyla of invertebrates. Since vertebrates have a single identifying factor called vertebra, it is not difficult to classify them. However, invertebrates are any other animals classified outside of that class. Let us look at some of them in detail.
A wide variety of interesting ocean animals that are invertebrates includes sponges, corals, jellyfish, anemones, and starfish.
Molluscs, another category of invertebrates, have a soft body that is covered by an outer layer called a mantle. Many molluscs live inside a shell, but not all of them. Some examples of molluscs include squid, snails, slugs, octopuses, and oysters.
Crustaceans are a type of arthropod. Arthropods are characterized by jointed legs. They also have an exoskeleton, meaning that their bones are on the outside like a shell. Some examples of crustaceans are crabs, lobster, shrimp, and barnacles.
Worms are invertebrate animals that do not have legs. Worms may live in the soil, in the water, or even inside other animals as parasites. Some examples include the tapeworm, the leech, and the earthworm.
Insects are part of the earth’s largest animal phylum, the arthropods. There are over 1 million species of insects including the grasshopper, dragonfly, yellow jacket, butterfly and praying mantis.
Spiders, centipedes and scorpions are all part of the arthropod phylum. Spiders and scorpions are arachnids because they have eight legs. Centipedes and millipedes are myriapods and have many legs. Some myriapods have as many as 750 legs. Some example species include the tarantula and black widow, which are both spiders.
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