Phyla Found in Oceans §

One way to think about biodiversity is to sort organisms by general body plan. Each of these broad groupings is called a phylum (the plural is phyla). If species are like twigs, phyla are like tree trunks.

ANIMALS

Chordata fish, mammals, reptiles, birds

Hemichordata acorn worms

Chaetognatha arrow worms

Echinodermata sea stars, sea cucumbers, sea urchins

Entoprocta sessile, ciliated organisms

Phoronida tube worms

Brachiopoda lamp shells

Ectoprocta bryozoans

Tardigrada water bears

Echiura spoon worms

Sipuncula peanut worms

Vestimentifera beard worms, tube worms

Arthropoda insects, crustaceans

Annelida typical worms

Mollusca snails, clams, squids, octopuses

Gnathostomulida ciliated worms

Loricifera loriciferans

Priapulida priapulids

Kinorhyncha kinorhynchs

Acanthocephala common parasites

Rotifera rotifers

Nematomorpha horsehair worms

Nematoda nematodes, roundworms

Gastrotricha gastrotrichs

Nemertina ribbon worms

Mesozoa tiny parasites

Platyhelminthes flatworms

Ctenophora comb jellies, sea walnuts

Cnidaria jellyfish, coral, anemones

Porifera sponges

Placozoa amoeba-like animals

Actinopoda radiolarians

Bacillariophyta diatoms

Chlorarachnida phototrophic amoebas

Chlorophyta green algae

Chrysophyta golden and yellow-green algae

Ciliophora ciliates

Cryptophyta cryptomonads, phytoflagellates

Dinoflagellata dinoflagellates

Ebridians zoomastigotes

Ellobiopsida ellobiopsids

Euglenophyta euglenoid flagellates

Foraminifera forams

Haplosporidia haplosporidians

Haptophyta coccolithophores

Labyrinthulomycota slime nets

Microspora microsporidians

Myxozoa myxozoans

Paramyzea paramyxeans

Phaeophyta brown algae

Raphidophyta raphidophytes

Rhizopoda amastigote amoebas

Rhodophyta red algae

Xenophyophora xenophyophores

Angiospermophyta sea grasses, mangroves

Mycophyta lichens

Aeroendospora oxygen-loving, spore-forming bacteria

Fermenting bacteria

Chemoautotrophic chemosynthetic

bacteria bacteria

Omnibacteria denitrifying bacteria

Pseudomonads Gram-negative, flagellated, rod-shaped bacteria

Cyanophyta blue-green algae

Anaerobic sulfur and

phototrophic non-sulfur

bacteria bacteria

Thiopneutes sulfur-reducing bacteria

Spirochaetae spirochetes

Halophilic bacteria salt-loving bacteria

Methanocreatrices methane-producing bacteria

More Information:

• Ride the Web Lift to Taxon . . . at the UCMP Virtual Museum of Paleontology

Ocean Planet Exhibition Floorplan

gene carl feldman (gene@seawifs.gsfc.nasa.gov) (301) 286-9428

Judith Gradwohl, Smithsonian Institution (Curator/Ocean Planet)