Animal kingdom – body plans and classification of phyla
BiologyEvolutionAges 11–12
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A key based on body plan: level of organisation, symmetry, germ layers, body cavity, notochord and segmentation lead to 11 phyla from Porifera to Chordata, and then to the five vertebrate classes. The Body plans screen draws cross-sections of each type and lets students turn a plane of symmetry; Phyla and classes shows drawings, a feature table, body covering, skeleton and examples; the Sorting game checks the result with animal cards.
Lesson: Animal kingdom: basis of classification and body plans
What it shows
Animals are grouped by features of their body plan. Sponges are only loose groups of cells; cnidarians and comb jellies have tissues, radial symmetry and two germ layers; all other phyla are bilateral and triploblastic and differ in their body cavity: none in flatworms, a pseudocoelom in roundworms and a true coelom from annelids on. A notochord marks the chordates; segmentation, jointed legs, tube feet and a mantle separate the other coelomate phyla. Echinoderms follow the bilateral branch because their larvae are bilateral. Modern classification groups animals by DNA relationships, so some phyla are placed differently.
How to use
On Key, choose an Animal and press the answer to each question; Back one step undoes an answer and Start again restarts. Choose Answer freely to follow the key without checking. On Body plans, choose a Feature; for Symmetry move Cutting plane angle, and for Body cavity tap a cross-section. On Phyla and classes, choose a Phylum or class. On Sorting game, drag the card onto a group or tap the group.
Parameters you can change
- Screen Key, Body plans, Phyla and classes, Sorting game
- Animal Sponge, Jellyfish, Comb jelly, Planarian, Roundworm (Ascaris), Earthworm, Grasshopper, Snail, Starfish, Acorn worm (Balanoglossus), Lancelet (amphioxus), Carp, Frog, Lizard, Pigeon, Rabbit, Answer freely (no checking)
- Feature Organisation, Symmetry, Germ layers, Body cavity, Segmentation, Notochord
- Cutting plane angle 0–180 °
- Phylum or class Porifera, Cnidaria, Ctenophora, Platyhelminthes, Nematoda, Annelida, Arthropoda, Mollusca, Echinodermata, Hemichordata, Chordata, Fish, Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds, Mammals
- Card set Phyla, Vertebrate classes
Questions to explore
- Why are echinoderms placed with the bilateral animals although an adult starfish is radial?
- How does a pseudocoelom differ from a true coelom?
- Which features show that a whale is a mammal and not a fish?
