Invertebrate

Invertebrate Definition
Invertebrates are animals that don’t have a backbone. The vertebral column is another
name for the backbone. Over 90% of all species on Earth are invertebrates, and
invertebrate species have been found in the fossil record as far back as 600 million years
ago. Molecular biology studies suggest that all invertebrates evolved from a single
invertebrate group.

Characteristics of Invertebrates
In addition to not having a backbone, invertebrates have soft bodies because they don’t
have an internal skeleton (endoskeleton) for support. Instead, many have structures on the
outside (exoskeleton) that provide support and protection. In addition, invertebrates are
cold-blooded, meaning they can’t regulate their body temperature, so it changes depending
on the environment.

Invertebrates are incredibly diverse. They live in fresh water, salt water, on land and as
parasites in other animals. There are invertebrates that are carnivorous (meat eaters),
herbivores (plant eaters) and omnivores (meat and plant eaters). There are even some
invertebrate species that grow bacteria and cells inside their bodies that make their food.
Some invertebrates stay in one spot, while others fly, swim, float, crawl and burrow.

Types of Invertebrates
Eighty-five percent of invertebrates – some 923,000 species – are arthropods. Mollusks
have approximately 100,000 distinct species. Some of the most common types of
invertebrates are:
 protozoans – single-celled organisms such as amoebas and paramecia
 annelids – earthworms, leeches
 echinoderms – starfish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers
 mollusks – snails, octopi, squid, snails, clams
 arthropods – insects, spiders, crustaceans such as shrimp, crabs, lobsters


Example of Invertebrate Animals

Amoebas

Amoebas are single-celled organisms that are part

of the simplest group of invertebrates. They have
a cell membrane, DNA, a nucleus and organelles
just like most cells in the human body. The
difference is that amoebas can move using their
pseudopodia, or “false feet.” They also use
pseudopodia to catch and eat food. Beneficial
amoebas are found in soil where they help regulate bacterial populations and recycle
nutrients. There are several species of ameba that cause disease, including Entameba
hystolitica, which causes diarrhea.

Earthworms

Earthworms, also called angleworms, are

very important in the world because their
burrowing turns over and aerates the soil,
provides soil drainage and mixes in
organic material. They are one of more
than 1,800 species of worms that live on
land. Earthworms eat pieces of plants and
animals in the soil. The bodies of worms
are divided into segments; in certain
species, some of the organs are duplicated
in each segment. Earthworms can detect
light and vibrations, but they are blind
and cannot hear. Birds and other animals
use earthworms as a food source.

Starfish

Starfish are also called sea stars because of the

arms or “rays” they have sticking out of their
bodies. Some starfish live deep in the oceans,
while others live on the shore. There are over
1,600 species of starfish. Most have five arms,
but one species is known to have 24 arms.
Starfish have tube feet that work with
hydraulic pressure to help them move. Snails,
mussels and clams are common foods for
starfish, which use their arms to guide food
particles from the water into their mouths.
These organisms have the unique ability to
lose and regrow their arms.

Squids
Squids are decapods, meaning they have 10
arms or tentacles. They are different from
octopuses, which have eight arms. Each
tentacle has four rows of suckers that help
them catch prey (usually fish) and attach
themselves to surfaces. Squids live in the
ocean, both near the shore and in the ocean
depths. Their length ranges from about 3/4
of an inch to more than 65 feet. Some squids are luminous, which means they have
light organs in their skin that let them change color to camouflage themselves,
attract prey and communicate with other squids. Humans, some fishes and sperm
whales eat squid.

Spiders
Spiders make their home on every
continent except Antarctica. They are not
insects because they have eight legs
(insects have six legs). Experts think there
are about 170,000 species of spiders in the
world, but only around 39,000 are
described and named. Some spiders live on
land and others live in the water. The leg
span of species ranges from 0.02 of an inch
to 10 inches. Most spiders have eight eyes,
and can sense light and dark. They also are
very sensitive to vibration, which comes in
handy when prey gets stuck in their web.
Some spiders inject poison into their prey
to kill it, while others prefer to wrap up their live catch and save it for later. Spiders can
only ingest liquids; they bite holes in their prey and inject enzymes that dissolve the tissues
so they can be sucked out.

Vertebrate
Vertebrate, also called Craniata, any animal of the subphylum Vertebrata, the
predominant subphylum of the phylum Chordata. They have backbones, from which they
derive their name. The vertebrates are also characterized by a muscular system consisting
primarily of bilaterally paired masses and a central nervous system partly enclosed within
the backbone.

The subphylum is one of the best known of all groups of animals. Its members include the
classes Agnatha, Chondrichthyes, and Osteichthyes (all
fishes); Amphibia (amphibians); Reptilia (reptiles); Aves (birds);
and Mammalia (mammals).

General Features

Although the vertebral column is perhaps the most obvious vertebrate feature, it
was not present in the first vertebrates, which probably had only a notochord. The
vertebrate has a distinct head, with a differentiated tubular brain and three pairs of
sense organs (nasal, optic, and otic). The body is divided into trunk
and tail regions. The presence of pharyngeal slits with gills indicates a relatively
high metabolic rate. A well-developed notochord enclosed in
perichordal connective tissue, with a tubular spinal cord in a connective tissue canal
above it, is flanked by a number of segmented muscle masses. A
sensory ganglion develops on the dorsal root of the spinal nerve, and segmental
autonomic ganglia grow below the notochord. The trunk region is filled with a
large, bilateral body cavity (coelom) with contained viscera, and this coelom
extends anteriorly into the visceral arches. A digestive system consists of
an esophagus extending from the pharynx to the stomach and a gut from the
stomach to the anus. A distinct heart, anteroventral to the liver, is enclosed in a
pericardial sac. A basic pattern of closed circulatory vessels is largely preserved
in most living forms. Unique, bilateral kidneys lie retroperitoneally (dorsal to the
main body cavity) and serve blood maintenance and excretory functions.
Reproductive organs are formed from tissue adjacent to the kidneys; this original
close association is attested by the tubular connections seen in males of living
forms. The ducts of the excretory organs open through the body wall into a
cloacal chamber, as does the anus of the digestive tract. Reproductive cells are
shed through nearby abdominal pores or through special ducts. A muscular tail
continues the axial musculature of the trunk.

Approximately 45,000 living species constitute the vertebrates. Species of

several classes are found from the high Arctic or Antarctic to the tropics around
the Earth; they are missing only from interior Antarctica and Greenland and from
the North Polar ice pack. In size, vertebrates range from minute fishes to
elephants and whales (of up to 100 tons), the largest animals ever to have
existed. Vertebrates are adapted to life underground, on the surface, and in the
air. They feed upon plants, invertebrate animals, and one another. Vertebrate
faunas are important to humans for food and recreation.

Natural History
In order to give a broad and comparative view of their life histories, the vertebrates are
subdivided here into major groups based on morphology: the cyclostomes (jawless fishes),
the chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fishes), the teleostomes (bony fishes), and the tetrapods.

The cyclostomes

The cyclostomes include two

classes of living, jawless fishes
(agnathous)—
Petromyzontiformes (lamprey
eels) and Myxiniformes
(hagfishes). The hagfishes are
totally marine, often living in
deep waters associated with
muddy bottoms. The lampreys
may be marine as adults but
spawn in fresh waters, where the
larvae spend some time before
metamorphosing to the adult.
Some lampreys live entirely in
fresh water and may change only
slightly in habit as a result of
metamorphosis. Without lateral fins, lampreys swim by undulations of the body and can
control direction only for short distances.
The living agnaths are predatory, the lampreys being well known for attacking salmonoid
fishes. The lamprey attaches to its prey using its round, suctorial mouth, and it rasps a hole
through the outer tissues using a tongue armed with keratinized teeth. It suctions off bits of
tissue, blood, and body fluids. The hagfishes feed somewhat similarly, but on a variety of
prey—invertebrates (worms and soft-bodied forms) and dead fishes.

The lampreys produce small eggs, which develop directly into larvae that burrow into the
muddy bottom of the stream. With its mouth at the surface of the mud, the larva filter feeds
until large enough to metamorphose and swim off as a small adult. In contrast, the
hagfishes produce relatively large encapsulated, yolky eggs up to two centimetres in length.
When laid, these eggs attach to any available object by terminal hooks. The encased egg
develops more or less directly into a miniature adult.

The chondrichthyes

The sharks, rays, and

chimaerids are usually
marine, but some sharks
have entered fresh waters
(the Amazon) or even live
there permanently (Lake
Nicaragua). In size, sharks
range from the whale
shark, nearly 10 metres in
length, to rather small
species, three centimetres
in length. They usually
weigh 25 to 200 kilograms
(55 to 440 pounds). Sharks
are predatory animals.
Some large shark species (basking and whale sharks) filter feed on small crustaceans.
Herbivorous sharks are unknown. Sharks swim by undulations of the tail, but rays “fly”
through the water by undulations of the pectoral fins. Most species occur in near-shore
waters, but some range widely throughout the oceans. A few are found in deep water.

A few sharks produce live young (viviparous) after internal fertilization. The posterior
angle of the male’s pelvic fins are modified into a clasper, which acts as an intromittent
organ in copulating with the female. Most sharks lay large yolky, encapsulated eggs with
hooks for attachment. The young develop directly and begin life as miniature adults. The
young that develop in the mother’s uterus obtain nutrients from the large yolk sac until
they are born alive. In a few cases, the uterine wall secretes nutrients.

The teleostome, or osteichthyian, fishes (those having an internal bony skeleton) can be
divided into two groups: the subclasses Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) and
Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fishes). The latter group includes the lungfishes, which live in
marshes, ponds, or streams, and are frequent air breathers. They lay fairly large eggs, with
a limited amount of yolk, that are enclosed in jelly coats like those of an amphibian. The
eggs develop into small fishes that feed on live prey. The larvae of the African lungfish have
external gills to supplement oxygen intake.
The teleostomes

Actinopterygian fishes are the common

bony fishes of modern aquatic
environments. They range in size from
fishes that are only millimetres in size
to those two or more metres (6.6 or
more feet) in length, weighing 500
kilograms or more. Large species
(sturgeons) are found in fresh waters
(several other large species are found
in the Amazon) as well as in marine
environments. The diet may include
plants, animals, and carrion. Most
species are midwater swimmers, but
many spend much time lying on the
bottom. Tail, pectoral, and even dorsal fins are used in swimming. Reproduction in this
group is by way of large numbers of small eggs, which produce small larvae or develop
directly to the adult.

The tetrapods

The tetrapods live primarily on land

and are rather similar in habit.
Members include the amphibians,
reptiles, birds, and mammals.
Amphibians are widespread in the
warmer parts of the continents,
being absent only in the far north
and in the Antarctic. Three orders
are recognized: Candata (the
salamanders), the frogs and toads
(Anura, or Salientia), and the Apoda
or Gymnophiona (caecilians).
Modification takes many forms, from
the moist glandular skin (some scale
remnants persist in apodans) to the
loss of many of the bones of the
skull. Like their ancestors,
amphibians are cold-blooded and tend to be aquatic or limited to moist surroundings.
Salamanders are seemingly the least modified in body form. They do not actively pursue
prey and at best are only marginal swimmers. In swimming or crawling, the salamander’s
body and tail undulate. Frogs and toads hop using hind-limb propulsion and the forelimbs
as body props. This dominance of the hind limb in locomotion is best seen in swimming
when the forelimbs are drawn back against the body. In contrast to the salamanders and
frogs, the burrowing, wormlike apodans are without limbs.

Amphibians usually trap food using a tongue that can be shot out of the mouth, or they use
the mouth itself to grasp and ingest food. There is great variation in foods; only the larvae
of frogs and toads appear to be plant feeders, a specialization that is reflected in the highly
modified jaws and guts of the tadpoles.
Amphibians have retained a simple egg cell with a gelatinous cover. The eggs are laid in
ponds, streams, or even in damp places high in trees, usually in great numbers. Fertilized
eggs develop into free-swimming larvae, which then metamorphose to adults, but in highly
specialized forms.

The class Reptilia retains many of the structural characteristics of the ancestral amphibian.
While most reptiles are carnivorous, feeding on other organisms, a few are herbivorous
(e.g., tortoises). As cold-blooded animals, reptiles tend to be limited to temperate and
tropical areas, but, where found, they are relatively common, although not as large or
conspicuous as birds or mammals. Most reptiles are terrestrial, but a few are aquatic. As
basic tetrapods, reptiles move about by creeping or swimming in a fashion similar to
amphibians. Some reptiles, however, can lift the body from the ground and run rapidly
either in a quadrupedal or bipedal fashion. Reptiles lay relatively large, shelled eggs. In a
few instances, the eggs and young are cared for by the female; in others, the young are born
alive (ovovivipary).

Birds are warm-blooded, and, although most are capable of flight, others are sedentary and
some are flightless. Like their relatives the reptiles, birds lay shelled eggs that differ largely
in the amount of calcification (hardening) of the shell. The young are usually cared for in a
nest until they are capable of flight and self-feeding, but some birds hatch in a well-
developed state that allows them to begin feeding immediately or even take flight. The
megapods lay their eggs in mounds of rotting vegetation, which supplies the heat for
incubation. (Nesting activities similar to those of some birds are seen in the crocodilians.)

The mammals range in size from tiny shrews or small bats weighing only a few grams to
the largest known animals, the whales. Most mammals are terrestrial, feeding on both
animal and vegetable matter, but a few are partially aquatic or entirely so, as in the case of
the whales or porpoises. Mammals move about in a great variety of ways: burrowing,
bipedal or tetrapedal running, flying, or swimming. Reproduction in mammals is usually
viviparous, the young developing in the uterus, where nutritive materials are made
available through an allantoic placenta or, in a few cases, a yolk sac. The fertilized egg
develops directly into the adult. The monotremes (platypus and echidna) differ from other
mammals in that they lay eggs which hatch, and the relatively undeveloped young are
carried in a pouch or kept in a nest; the growing young lap up a milk nutrient fluid exuded
from the belly of the mother.
Biodegradable substances are those that degrades or break down naturally. Non-
biodegradable substances are those that do not degrade easily. These terms itself defines
the ability of the substances which are degradable or not. Materials like plants, animals,
their waste, paper, fruits, flowers, vegetables fall under biodegradable substances, on the
other hand, rubber, plastic, chemicals, paint plastic falls under the category of the non-
biodegradable items.

Comparison Chart

BASIS FOR BIODEGRADABLE NON-BIODEGRADABLE

COMPARISON SUBSTANCES SUBSTANCES

Meaning The wastes that decompose Such wastes which do not

naturally in the environment decompose naturally in the
and are considered safe for environment causes pollution
the environment are called and are also harmful to the
as biodegradable living being are called the
substances. non-biodegradable
substances.

Examples Dead plants and animals, Chemicals, paints, plastic,

their waste, fruits, rubber, toxic, plastic, metals,
vegetables, flowers, paper, etc.
etc.

The rate of Slow. Fast.

decomposition

Decomposed by Bacteria, fungi, and other These substances do not

living organisms have the degrade easily or by the action
capability of decomposing of natural agents.
the material into the soil.

Use After degradation, they can As their degradation rate is

be used to produce biogas, slow and the separation and
manure, fertilisers, compost. recycling are not easy and
expensive too.

Biodegradable substances They are harmful to the

are not harmful to the environment.
environment.