Generated by: Madeline Ryan

Examples of Invertebrates

This organism is a glass sponge. This particular type of sponge lives in polar waters or deep in tropical waters because its extremely porous structure helps them to easily extract nutrients from these nutrient-depleted environments.

Venus' Flower Basket(Euplectella aspergillum)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porifera

This organism is segmented with a digestive and circulatory system. It is shaped like a tube. Earthworms are also generally decomposers. Additionally, earthworms are hermaphrodites (contain both female and male sex organs).

Common Earthworm(Lumbricus terrestris)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthworm

This organism has a transparent body, flat underside, and is bilaterally symmetrical. Also, this organism is tiny in size. Additionally, this organism acts a hermaphrodite (contains both female and male sex organs).

No common name(Lepidodermella squamatum) 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gastrotricha

This is a miniscule organism that is about 0.5 mm long. It has bilateral symmetry, typically lives in freshwater, contributes to nutrient recycling, and is a major food source for other organisms.

No Common Name(Sinantheria socialis)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotifera

This organism is usually found in temperate and tropical areas buried in the sand. They are typically 5 centimeters long. They have a dorsal nerve cord not protected by bone, tentacles by their mouth that act as sensory instruments, and breathe through their skin.

Common Lancelet (Branchiostoma lanceolatum)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lancelet

The sea star typically has five arms. Its outside surface is shaped by its endoskeleton into shapes such as spines across its surface. Sea stars typically are predators and eat mollusks.

Red cushion sea star(Oreaster reticulatus)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish

This organism resembles ancient organisms that were in existence hundreds of millions of years ago and so are called “living fossils.” The horseshoe crab has three main body parts: the head, the abdominal area, and the spine-like tail. Its color vary from a green-gray to a dark brown. The top part consists of a shell that hides the exposed body underneath.

Horseshoe Crab  (Limulus polyphemus)

http://www.arkive.org/invertebrates-marine/index-latin2.html

This organism is mostly encased in a mud-covered tube except for its tentacles, characterized by the colors purple, red, and brown, when feeding. The actual body of the organisms is either grey-purple or yellow-orange.

Peacock Worm  (Sabella pavonina)

http://www.arkive.org/invertebrates-marine/index-latin2.html

This organism usually covers seaweeds. This collective organism is a colony consisting of zooids that release an exoskeleton made of chitin. This released exoskeleton provides the shell of the organism known as Lacy Crust Bryozoan. Lacy Crust Bryozoan can typically be found in shallow waters and usually feeds on planktonic organisms.

Lacy Crust Bryozoan(Membranipora membranacea)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Membranipora_membranacea

This organism is the largest of all octopus species and is considered one of the most intelligent invertebrates. Additionally, the North Pacific Giant Octopus is generally a reddish-brown color. White spots may appear during mating and the entire octopus might change to a white when threatened.

North Pacific Giant Octopus  (Enteroctopus dofleini)

http://www.arkive.org/invertebrates-marine/index-latin2.html

These organisms have at least one nerve cord, respire through the skin, and have generally slim and short (in length) bodies. The anus is at the end and, in this particular class, have mouths at the front below the brain. These organisms are slow-moving organisms, powered by cilia.

No common name (Tubulanus nothus)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemertea

These flatworms live mostly in humid places, are nocturnal, and are predators or scavengers. Larger ones are brightly colored. Some have cilia to help them move.

Divided Flatworm(Pseudoceros dimidiatus)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platyhelminthes

This organism is a fragile organism. It feeds on planktonic organisms. Its mouth is the origin of tentacles that stay close to its body. It also has auricles that control the water currents to guide prey into its mouth.

Lobate comb jelly(Bathocyroe fosteri) 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ctenophora

A sea-fan anemone is characterized by the colors red, pink, orange, and white. It has as many as 80 tentacles. It looks similar to a flower and is usually attached to sea fans, as the common name implies.

Sea-fan Anemone  (Amphianthus dohrnii)

http://www.arkive.org/invertebrates-marine/index-latin2.html

The common jellyfish has a saucer-shaped center fringed by small tentacles and four larger ones. The four circles inside of the center are the gonads (gamete-producing organ).

Common Jellyfish (Aurelia aurita)

http://www.arkive.org/invertebrates-marine/index-latin2.html