Invertebrates | List of Invertebrate Animals With Description

by

Invertebrate Animals: Invertebrates form up one of the largest groups of animal classifications in the world. There are more invertebrate animals than vertebrate animals around us.

This article will look into the different types of invertebrate animals and a list of invertebrate animals that can be commonly sighted. For your better understanding, the list is supported with descriptions and pictures of invertebrate animals. Before moving ahead, let us understand what invertebrate animals are.

Invertebrates are animals that do not have a vertebral column and a backbone. Invertebrates make up over 97 percent of the animal kingdom. The majority of them are soft-bodied and lack hard internal skeletons. Many invertebrates, on the other hand, have rigid exoskeletons that shield their bodies from their environs.

Study the most important English Vocabulary Words identified by our experts and learn the right vocabulary to use in your day to day conversations

List of Invertebrate Animals

Classification of Invertebrate Animals

Annelids

Annelids are worms with a cylindrical body divided into equal segments known as metamers. This category comprises terrestrial and freshwater species, marine, or both. The earthworm and the leech are two of the most well-known. The earthworm is a hermaphrodite that feeds on decaying animals, whereas the sponge is a parasite that feeds on other creatures’ blood.

Arthropods

Arthropoda is a class of invertebrates with jointed limbs and chitin exoskeletons. It is the animal kingdom’s largest phylum.

Coelenterates

Coelenterates are radially symmetrical jelly-like aquatic invertebrates with tentacles that wrap a mouth at one end of the body. A coelenterate’s life cycle is divided into several separate stages. Cnidarians resemble cylindrical polyps during the sessile stage, while during the medusa stage, they are free-swimming and resemble jellyfish.

Echinoderms

The Phylum Echinodermata is a collection of marine invertebrates with itchy skins. Members of this group have radial symmetry, and their bodies are usually divided into five equal pieces that encircle a central axis.

Mollusca

Mollusks are a type of invertebrate animal that you can find both on land and in water. Mollusks have strong shells constructed of calcium carbonate to protect their bodies from predators and the environment because they have soft bodies. Univalves and bivalves are the two types of shelled mollusks. The majority of them also have a muscular ventral foot.

Nematodes

Nematoda is a class of invertebrates that includes nematodes. Nematodes are elongated, thin, unsegmented roundworms. Nematodes can be found in several settings, including soil, freshwater, saltwater, and parasites in the bodies of plants and animals.

Platelminti

Platyhelminthes are wormlike invertebrates with basic structures and no anuses or circulatory systems. They have a branching digestive and excretory system but only one entrance for food introduction and waste ejection. They breathe through the skin, and they have primitive sensory organs on their heads called eyespots, which function as touch receptors and aid in the food search.

Porifera

Proifera, sometimes known as sponges, reside on the seafloor. Water travels through the pores, bringing nutrients and oxygen with it. Porifera are multicellular organisms that are mostly made up of tissue and do not have sophisticated organs. The majority live in the sea, anchored to coral reefs, rocks, or shells.

Names of Invertebrate Animals

Description of Invertebrate Animals on the List

Anemone

The sea anemone is an enthralling and colourful organism. There are over 1100 species that have been documented. They can be found in depths of over 32,000 feet in waters all around the world.

Despite this, the most diverse and most extensive species tend to live in shallow tropical seas. The animal’s rainbow of hues may be captivating, but these are not animals to play with.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Cnidaria
Class Anthozoa
Order Actiniaria
Scientific Name Actiniaria

Ant

The ant is a tiny invertebrate found throughout the planet except in polar locations such as the Arctic Circle and Antarctica. As with many other insect species, countless ant species live in various settings all over the world.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Insecta
Order Hymenoptera
Family Formicidae
Scientific Name Formicidae

Beetle

Beetles are the most numerous animal order on the planet. These insects account for one-quarter of all animal lifeforms and the majority of insects. They can be found all over the earth except in the oceans, though some can endure extreme cold and others are semi-aquatic.

Kingdom Anthophila
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Insecta
Order Endopterygota
Family Coleoptera
Scientific Name Coleoptera

Butterfly

There are many species of butterflies throughout the world, including swallowtails and monarchs. They are available in a variety of colours, including blue, white, pink, and brown.

Each butterfly’s life cycle begins as a larva and progresses to the transformation into a gorgeous butterfly. Except for Antarctica, one can find butterflies on every continent.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Insecta
Order Lepidoptera
Scientific Name Rhopalocera

Invertebrate1

Caterpillar

The caterpillar’s task is to eat to grow big enough before metamorphosing into a butterfly. Most bug species lose their skins four times as they mature. Their bodies have around 4,000 muscles.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Insecta
Order Lepidoptera
Scientific Name Lepidoptera

Centipede

Centipedes have flat, segmented bodies and are predatory arthropods. These multi-legged critters are capable of growing from two inches to a foot in length. Centipedes must spend the majority of their life near water since they lack a hard outer skeleton. This is why these creatures love a moist environment.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Chilopoda
Scientific Name Chilopoda

Clam

Giant clams can grow to reach nearly 4 feet long. They can be found in both the Indian and South Pacific Oceans. A gigantic clam’s exposed mantle, or soft tissue, has a variety of hues and patterns that can include yellow, green, iridescent blue, and purple.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Mollusca
Class Bivalvia
Order Cardiida
Family Cardiidae
Genus Tridacna
Scientific Name Tridacna gigas

Cockroach

Cockroaches can survive without eating for up to 30 days and ten days without water. They can also survive without their heads for up to ten days. There are around 4,500 species of cockroaches worldwide, but only about 30 are considered pests.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Insecta
Order Blattaria
Scientific Name Blattaria

Invertebrate2

Coral

Coral resembles plants but is made up of saltwater-dwelling invertebrate marine creatures. They have rocky hard, horny, or soft exterior or internal skeletons. Coral animals are composed of a core polyp surrounded by a frame.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Cnidaria
Class Anthozoa
Scientific Name Anthozoa

Crab

Crabs are vital to the ecology because they help to keep things clean. They are also an essential source of food for many other animals, including humans. Some crabs dwell just in the ocean, while others live near the coast.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Malacostraca
Order Decapoda
Family Brachyura
Scientific Name Brachyura

Cuttlefish

The cuttlefish is a fascinating aquatic organism with flexible tentacles, produce ink, and a keen brain. Despite its name, it is not exactly a fish at all but rather a sort of cephalopod. This puts it in the same category as squids, nautiluses, and octopuses.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Mollusca
Class Cephalopoda
Order Decapodiformes
Family Sepiida
Scientific Name Sepiida

Dragonfly

Dragonflies are a vital element of the environment because they eat mosquitoes, gnats, and cicadas. These fascinating insects are also a source of food for a variety of fish and birds. Except for Antarctica, one can find them on every other continent. The dragonfly lives in wooded environments as well as freshwater lakes, ponds, marshes, and streams.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Insecta
Order Odonata
Family Anisoptera
Scientific Name Anisoptera

Invertebrate3

Fly

The fly is one of the most numerous and diverse animal families in the world. Although they frequently have an antagonistic connection with humans as an irritation or a potential disease vector, these insects play a variety of crucial ecological tasks. They are the second most prevalent pollinators, only bees being more common.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Insecta
Order Diptera
Scientific Name Diptera

Grasshopper

Grasshoppers are one of the world’s oldest insect families. Grasshoppers do not go through complete metamorphosis like many other insects. They hatch as nymphs or hoppers, which resemble tiny, wingless adults. It takes five moults for them to attain adult size.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Insecta
Order Orthoptera
Family Caelifera
Scientific Name Caelifera

Jellyfish

Jellyfish are primordial marine animals that have been found in oceans for millions of years. Though they are not often hostile, these fish are well-known for their ability to sting, allowing them to protect themselves against any threat. These fish hunt with their tentacles. They do not, however, have bones, a heart, or most other organs.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Cnidaria
Class Scyphozoa
Order Semaeostomeae
Family Cyaneidae
Scientific Name Cyaneidae

Ladybug

The conventional ladybug description mentions the red shell and black spots. However, there are many diverse patterns. The number of dots can distinguish between the many species that exist today. They have a relatively durable body, allowing them to live in a variety of conditions.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Insecta
Order Coleoptera
Family Coccinellidae
Scientific Name Coleoptera

 

Lobster

Lobsters are a crustacean family that lives in waters around most of the world’s coastlines. Lobsters are closely linked to insects since they have an exoskeleton and jointed legs, similar to spiders. They are omnivores, meaning they eat both fish and algae.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Order Decapoda
Family Nephropidae
Scientific Name Nephropidae

Millipede

The millipede is a member of the arthropod kingdom, which includes spiders and butterflies. They are not called insects, despite having a hard exoskeleton that protects their body.

Though certain millipede species are venomous, they have little defence against natural predators. They have no pinchers, stingers, or claws to prevent predators, and they don’t even bite.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Diplopoda
Scientific Name Diplopoda

Moth

Moths are an incredibly diverse species, with over 160,000 different varieties worldwide. The majority of moths are nocturnal (active at night). During the day, they hide beneath the leaves of trees or find a way inside a home’s dark attic or basement.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Insecta
Order Lepidoptera
Scientific Name Gynnidomorpha Alisman

Octopus

The octopus is the most intelligent invertebrate species on the planet. These cephalopods are sophisticated enough to engage in deceptive behaviour, such as pretending to be “moving pebbles” to outwit predators.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Mollusca
Class Cephalopoda
Order Octopoda
Family Octopodidae
Scientific Name Octopus Vulgaris

Oyster

Oysters are marine animals that live in salty environments. They have a very uneven shape, and some of the valves are heavily calcified. They are members of the phylum Mollusca.

Oysters are animals that consume algae and other food particles that are attracted to their gills. They are known to reproduce in warm waters by broadcast spawning and to be capable of changing gender.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Mollusca
Class Bivalvia
Order Ostreoida
Family Ostreidae
Scientific Name Ostreidae

Scorpion

Scorpions are predatory arachnids that have eight legs and a long tail with a stinger at the end. Two of the scorpion’s eight legs are in the shape of pincers, which resemble lobster claws. Scorpions are widely spread around the world, and they may be found on all continents except Antarctica.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Arachnida
Order Scorpiones
Family Scorpionoidea
Scientific Name Scorpiones

Sea urchin

Sea urchins are typically tiny, spiky, and spherical invertebrates. They can be found in depths from the tide line to 15,000 feet in all of the world’s oceans. They reside on the seafloor since they can’t swim. Their stiff, prickly test, or shell, serves as their primary defence against more nimble predators such as eels and otters.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Echinodermata
Class Echinoidea
Order Echinoida
Scientific Name Echinoidea

Slug

A slug is a common name for many distinct species from many taxonomic groups. The term refers to any terrestrial gastropod that lacks a shell or mollusk with little or no shell. Oysters, squid, and clams are examples of mollusks.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Mollusca
Class Gastropoda
Scientific Name Gastropoda

Snail

It belongs to the Mollusca phylum and can be found practically anywhere on the planet, from high mountains to small botanical gardens to deep seabed rocks. The shell is the snail’s distinguishing feature. This is the only distinction between them and the similarly related slugs and sea slugs.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Mollusca
Class Gastropoda
Order Achatinoidea
Scientific Name Achatinoidea

Spider

Common house spiders spin webs in the nooks and crannies of a home. They are tiny, measuring less than a quarter of an inch in length. They feed on flies, mosquitoes, fleas, and ants. Even though these spiders produce venom, their bite is deemed safe for humans and pets.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Arachnida
Order Aranae
Family Theridiidae
Genus Parasteatoda
Scientific Name Parasteatoda tepidariorum

Squid

Squids come in around 300 different varieties. They can be found in all of the world’s oceans, including Antarctica’s icy, frigid waters. They devour various meals, including microscopic invertebrates like krill, certain fish, and even each other.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Mollusca
Class Cephalopoda
Order Teuthida
Family Oegopsina
Scientific Name Teuthida

Starfish

Some of the most significant creatures of the underwater world are starfish, commonly known as sea stars. Although not technically fish, sea stars are organisms that can be found as deep as the abyssal layer in practically every coastal ecosystem. These slow-moving but sensitive fish are available in a variety of hues.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Echinodermata
Class Asteroidea
Scientific Name Asteroidea

Termite

Termites, also known as silent destroyers, cause billions of dollars in property damage each year. The insects have six legs along with a large head in comparison to their body size. Termites are usually white or light yellow in appearance. The bug species live in colonies led by a queen who lays eggs daily.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Insecta
Order Isoptera
Scientific Name Isoptera

Wasp

Wasps are among the most diverse organisms on the planet, with over 100,000 species found globally. Most people associate wasps with aggressive insects that dwell in enormous colonies, although the vast majority of wasps are peaceful, solitary individuals.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Insecta
Order Hymenoptera
Scientific Name Hymenoptera

Leave a Comment