Marine Phyla

Marine Phyla

The term phylum is one of seven major categories that are used to classify organisms. In order of broad to specific. These seven categories are: Kingdom (broadest), Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, and Species (most specific). This system of classification was developed in the 18th century by Carolus Linnaeus. A phylum can be defined in two ways: as a group of organisms with a certain degree of structural or developmental similarity or a group of organisms with a certain degree of evolutionary relatedness.

For plants "Phylum" is equivalent to the botanical term "Division".

Below is a list of the Marine Phyla with a link to more information on the MESA site or on the web.

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Chordata Fish, mammals, reptiles, birds more	Brachiopoda Lamp shells more	Annelida Typical worms more at MESA	Arthropoda Insects, crustaceans more more at MESA

Echinodermata Sea stars, sea cucumbers, sea urchins	Chaetognatha arrow worms more at MESA	Ectoprocta Bryozoans more at MESA	Hemichordata Acorn worms more at MESA

Echiura Spoon worms more at MESA	Entoprocta Sessile, ciliated organisms more	Tardigrada Water bears more	Phoronida Tube worms more at MESA

Sipuncula Peanut worms more at MESA	Vestimentifera Beard worms, tube worms more	Mollusca Snails, clams, squids, octopuses	Gnathostomulida Ciliated jaw worms more

Loricifera Microscopic marine sediment-dwelling animals more	Priapulida Priapulid worms more	Kinorhyncha Small marine invertebrates more	Acanthocephala Parasitic worms more

Rotifera rotifers	Nematomorpha horsehair worms	Nematoda nematodes, roundworms	Gastrotricha gastrotrichs

Nemertea Ribbon worms more at MESA	Mesozoa Tiny parasites more	Platyhelminthes Flatworms more	Ctenophora comb jellies, sea walnuts more at MESA

Cnidaria Jellyfish, coral, anemones more at MESA	Porifera Sponges more at MESA	Placozoa Very simple amoeba-like animal with only one species in phylum more

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