Photo Gallery
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ArthtropodsDiverse group of taxa such as insects, crustaceans, spiders, scorpions, and centipedes. There are far more species of arthropods than species in all other phyla combined, and the number of undescribed species in the largest assemblage of arthropods, the insects, probably numbers in the tens of millions.
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EchinodermsRadially symmetrical animals that are only found in the sea (there are none on land or in fresh water). Echinoderms mean "spiny skin" in Greek. Many, but not all, echinoderms have spiny skin. There are over 6,000 species. Echinoderms usually have five appendages (arms or rays), but there are some exceptions.
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PoriferasCommonly referred to as sponges. Sponges are among the simplest animals on the planet, and it is believed that they evolved from the first multi-cellular organisms which eventually evolved into animals. The phylum Porifera represents the only phylum of the Parazoa branch of Kingdom Animalia--those without true tissues that diverged from the lineage shortly after the evolution of multicellularism from colonial protists.
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