La Eduteca - Los invertebrados

Animals Classification

This section discusses the classification of animals into vertebrates and invertebrates based on their characteristics.

Animals Classification

• In the world, there are over a million species of animals with significant differences in size, ranging from microscopic water fleas to large whales. The vast number of animals necessitates classification for study purposes.

• The primary classification divides animals into two major groups: vertebrates and invertebrates. This video focuses on understanding invertebrate animals.

Characteristics of Invertebrate Animals

• Invertebrate animals lack bones or a backbone. Some have a hard shell for protection like snails, while others have shells like crabs, and some even have naked bodies like jellyfish.

• Major groups of invertebrates include corals, jellyfish, worms, mollusks, arthropods, sea stars, and sea urchins. Corals and jellyfish have soft bodies and live in the sea; worms live on land and in water with soft bodies.

• Invertebrates inhabit both land and water environments. They move using various methods such as legs (centipedes), wings (flies), or tentacles (octopuses). Some crawl like earthworms while others remain fixed like mussels.

• Most invertebrates reproduce by laying many eggs that they usually do not care for. Additionally, some invertebrates are parasitic organisms.