SARASWATI VIDYA NIKETAN
FORM 1
INTEGRATED SCIENCE
DATE: 11/30/2020
Invertebrates
Invertebrates are animals that do not 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
Arthropods
Arthropods are invertebrates with jointed legs. They make up about 75% of all animals on Earth and have a
major role in maintaining ecosystems as pollinators, recyclers of nutrients, scavengers and food for other
animals. They include many animals we come across in our gardens, such as spiders, ants, centipedes and
slaters. Arthropods are divided into four major groups:
Insects ( including fly, beetles, ants);
myriapods (including centipedes and millipedes);
arachnids (including spiders, mites and scorpions);
Crustaceans (including slaters, prawn and crabs).
Mollusks
A mollusk is a kind of animal with a soft body. Most mollusks have a hard shell that protects the body.
Octopuses, oysters, snails, and squid are just a few examples.
Mollusks can be found throughout the world. Most live in the sea, but others live in freshwater. Some like
shallow water along the coast. Others prefer deep water. Many mollusks dig into sandy or muddy bottoms.
Some attach themselves to rocks.
Some snails and slugs live on land. They prefer cool, moist places. But they also can be found in cold regions
and in dry deserts.
Mollusks are invertebrates, meaning that they do not have a backbone. They have a soft body that holds the
heart, liver, digestive system, and other important organs. Most mollusks have a mouth structure called a radula.
The radula is sort of like a rough tongue with lots of tiny teeth.
A mollusk’s soft body has a covering called the mantle. In most kinds of mollusk, the mantle makes a shell.
Some mollusks, such as snails, have a single, solid shell. Other mollusks, called bivalves, have a shell with two
halves that can close together for protection. Oysters and clams are bivalves. Some mollusks, such as octopuses
and squid, do not have a shell.
Worms
Adult animals that have soft, elongated, often tube-like bodies and that lack backbones are commonly called
worms. Worms are so different from one another that zoologists do not classify them together in a single group;
they place them in about a dozen different and often unrelated taxonomic groups called phyla. In everyday
language, the name worm may be loosely applied to other animals as well—to the larvae, or immature forms, of
some insects, for example, or even to some vertebrates, such as the blindworm, a limbless, snakelike lizard.
However, the name is properly applied only to certain adult invertebrates.
Worms play a major role in virtually all ecosystems. Some terrestrial worms condition the soil. Many worms
are parasites of plants and animals, including humans. Many free-living, or nonparasitic, worms form an
important link in food chains.
