Appendix
Classification of organisms
Organisms are classified into groups
on the basis of features that they share.
Organisms are first classified into
domains and kingdoms. They are then
classified into a hierarchy of subgroups:
phylum, class, order, family, genus, and
species.
The classification presented here groups
organisms into three domains.
Two of the domains are prokaryotes
(bacteria). Most prokaryotes are
small single cells that are rod-shaped,
spherical or spiral. Cells lack an
organised nucleus and other membrane-
bound organelles. Some species are
made of cells linked together to form
colonies or chains and some have
flagella and are motile. The two
Domain Bacteria
Bacteria: spirochaetes, Gram-negative
(e.g. Escherichia coli, Salmonella),
Gram-positive (Staphylococcus,
Bacillus), purple and sulfur-reducing
eubacteria, mycoplasmas; cyanobacteria
(previously called blue-green algae).
Bacteria use many kinds of raw
materials as a source of energy. Most
are consumers, including decomposers
that break down dead organic matter
and parasites that get their nutrients
from a living host. Some eubacteria
cause diseases such as leprosy,
tuberculosis, diarrhoea and pneumonia.
The smallest eubacteria, called
mycoplasmas, survive in the mucous
membranes of the respiratory and
urogenital tracts of mammals and other
hosts. Some bacteria manufacture their
own food, using inorganic materials
as a source of energy. They are either
photosynthetic (e.g. green sulfur
eubacteria and purple eubacteria) or
chemosynthetic (e.g. nitrogen-fixing
eubacteria such as Rhizobium).
Cyanobacteria live in a wide range
of habitats, including fresh water, salt
water and soil. They are single rod-
shaped cells or spherical cells that
form long chains (filaments). Cells
contain green, red and blue pigments,
so they vary in colour. They are all
photosynthetic, and many fix nitrogen.
24_Biology1si_APP Sec1:477
domains are Bacteria and Archaea. They
differ fundamentally in the structure of
their cell walls and membranes, and in
the way that they produce proteins.
Within the domain Eukarya, four
kingdoms are recognised. Other
classifications differ in the number
of subgroups within kingdoms.
For simplicity, some of the smaller
subgroups, and also viruses, are left
out here. Viruses do not fit into any
kingdom because they are not cellular
organisms—they are subcellular genetic
parasites.
Domain Bacteria—true bacteria
Domain Archaea—ancient bacteria
(also known as Archaebacteria)
Domain Eukarya
Domain Archaea
Archaea: methanogens,
thermophiles, halophiles and
sulfur-dependent archaeobacteria.
The Archaea often live in harsh
environments where true bacteria
cannot grow, and produce unusual
compounds. The methane Archaea live
without oxygen in decaying vegetation
in swamps and produce methane gas
(‘swamp gas’); a few species live in the
intestinal tract of cattle, which pass
methane. Other archaeobacteria live in
highly saline environments (halophilic
or ‘salt-loving’ bacteria) or in hot
springs (thermophilic or ‘heat-loving’
bacteria).
Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Protista
Protists include a great diversity of
organisms. Most are single-celled,
but some form colonies of cells and
others are multicellular. Some are
fungus-like, some plant-like and some
animal-like. The kingdom includes a
Kingdom Protista—unicellular
parasites, diatoms, dinoflagellates, red,
brown and green algae, oomycetes,
protozoa, slime moulds.
Kingdom Plantae—land plants:
liverworts, hornworts and mosses
(bryophytes); ferns; lycopods; seed
plants, including cycads, ginkgo and
conifers (gymanosperms) and flowering
plants (angiosperms).
Kingdom Fungi—chytrids, moulds,
yeast, rusts, smuts, puffballs,
mushrooms, toadstools and lichens.
Kingdom Animalia—animals including
jellyfish, corals, sea anemones,
flatworms, segmented worms, snails,
crustaceans, spiders, insects, sea stars,
tunicates, fishes, amphibians, reptiles,
birds and mammals.
number of unrelated lineages as thus is
polyphyletic. As biologists study protists
using the electron microscope and study
their DNA, they are discovering new
groups. Because of this, the number of
phyla is changing even as we write this
book! A number of the groups do not
have formal names as phyla.
Slime moulds
Slime moulds are related to the fungi
and animal lineage. Slime moulds live
in damp soil and obtain their food by
breaking down dead organic matter
such as fallen leaves. At one stage in
its life cycle, an acellular slime mould
(phylum Myxomycota) forms a whitish
or coloured slimy mass, which glides
over the soil surface. The mass is one
gigantic cell with many hundreds of
nuclei. Slime moulds reproduce by
spores.
Phylum Dictyostelida—cellular slime
moulds.
Phylum Myxomycota—acellular
(plasmodial) slime moulds,
myxomycetes.
477
Appendix
28/10/05 12:31:15 PM
 Sponge-like protists
Choanoflagellates—related to animals.
Diplomonads
Single-celled parasitic flagellates. They algae, but they have lost the ability
have a nucleus but lack some of the
other organelles typical of eukaryotes.
The group includes single-celled
parasites such as Giardia found in water. parasites. The genus Phytophthora causes
Parabasilids
Symbionts and parasites, e.g.
Trichomonas
Amoebae
Amoebae are single-celled organisms
that constantly change shape, forming
pseudopodia (‘false feet’), which
function both in locomotion and in
feeding, engulfing particles of food.
Some are common in oceans and
secrete hard shells around themselves.
Phylum Rhizopoda—rhizopods,
e.g. Amoeba.
Phylum Actinopoda—actinopods,
e.g. radiolarians.
Chromalveolates
The ‘brown’ lineage
Cryptomonads—flagellates.
Phylum Chrysophyta—golden
flagellates are single-celled and gold or
brown in colour. They occur in marine,
fresh water and soil habitats.
Phylum Phaeophyta—brown
algae, e.g. Durvillea, Hormosira, are
multicellular, mostly macroscopic, and
nearly all marine. They have green
photosynthetic pigments that are
masked by large amounts of brownish
pigments (hence their overall colour).
The kelps are the largest forms.
Phylum Haptophyta—e.g.
coccolithophorids.
Phylum Bacillariophyta—Diatoms
are a common group of single-celled
golden algae that have a rigid cell wall
made of silica. They are an important
part of the phytoplankton of the sea.
They are used in industry as fine-
grained filtration material and abrasives.
478
Appendix
24_Biology1si_APP Sec1:478
Phylum Oomycota—water moulds,
downy mildews, Phytophthora.
Oomycetes used to be classified as
fungi. We now know that they are
related to the golden and brown
to photosynthesise. They are mostly
aquatic and commonly called water
moulds. Some live in soil and some are
diseases such as late blight of potatoes
and dieback disease in eucalypts and
other Australian native plants.
Alveolates
Phylum Ciliophora—ciliates, e.g.
Paramecium. Ciliates are single-celled
organisms that have numerous cilia,
rather than flagella, that function in
locomotion. The group is large and
diverse, and cells can be quite complex
in structure. They are different
from other protozoans in that each
cell has two types of nuclei: a large
macronucleus and one or more smaller
micronuclei.
Phylum Dinophyta—dinoflagellates.
Dinoflagellates, which means ‘spinning
cell with flagella’, are single-celled
organisms that spin as they swim. They
are photosynthetic and have pigments
that make them appear gold, brown or
red. Most are marine organisms and are
an important part of the phytoplankton
of the sea. Some species are toxic and
responsible for ‘red tides’. Some species
(zooxanthellae) live symbiotically
inside marine animals such as corals.
Phylum Apicomplexa—parasites that
live in animals. They have a stage in
their life cycle that is a spore-like
infective cyst (also called sporozoans),
e.g. Plasmodium, which causes malaria,
and Toxoplasma
Euglenoids and
kinetoplasts
Phylum Euglenophyta—flagellates, e.g.
Euglena. Euglenoids are microscopic
unicellular organisms. They have
flagella, and many (e.g. Euglena) have
chloroplasts containing grass-green
pigments, which they have probably
‘stolen’ from symbiotic algae during the
course of evolution. Most live in fresh
water. Others are non-photosynthetic
and live in animals; some live in the gut
of termites and help to digest cellulose
in the diet of their host.
Phylum Kinetoplastida—kinetoplasts:
flagellate parasites, including
trypanosomes (which cause sleeping
sickness) and Leishmania (blood
parasites).
Pelobiontids
Amoebae lacking mitochondria.
Cerozoans and forams
Phylum Chlorarachniophyta—
Chlorarachnion, an ameboid
plasmodium.
Phylum Foraminifera—forams.
The ‘green’ lineage leading
to land plants
Phylum Glaucophyta—glaucophytes,
photosynthetic flagellates.
Phylum Rhodophyta—red algae, e.g.
Porphyra. Most are marine seaweeds,
but a few live in fresh water and on
land. Most are multicellular but they
are never as large as brown algae. Apart
from having the green photosynthetic
pigment chlorophyll, they have other
pigments that usually give them an
overall red colour; however, some
forms appear black, violet or brownish.
Phylum Chlorophyta—green algae,
e.g. Chlamydomonas, Spirogyra, Ulva,
desmids, Chara (stoneworts). Green
algae live mostly in fresh water and soil
habitats, but many are marine. They
are grass-green in colour, and they
store starch. Many are microscopic
single-celled organisms, but larger
forms are colonies or filaments of cells.
Macroscopic forms are tubes or sheets
of cells. Stoneworts are close relatives
of land plants.
28/10/05 12:31:26 PM

Kingdom Plantae (land plants)
This kingdom includes all plants found on land, and a few that grow in estuarine
and shallow marine environments.
NON-VASCULAR PLANTS— These three phyla are commonly called
have no transport tissue of xylem bryophytes
and phloem Phylum Hepatophyta (liverworts)
Phylum Anthocerophyta (hornworts)
Phylum Bryophyta (mosses)
VASCULAR PLANTS— The following phyla are the vascular plants
have transport tissue phloem that reproduce by spores.
and xylem Phylum Lycophyta (lycopods or club mosses)
Spore-bearing plants Phylum Psilophyta (Psilotum and Tmesipteris)
Phylum Sphenophyta (horsetails)
Phylum Filicophyta (ferns)
Seed plants The following phyla are the vascular plants
that reproduce by seeds rather than spores.
Cycads, ginkgos, conifers and gnetophytes are
often called gymnosperms, while the flowering
plants are called angiosperms.
Phylum Cycadophyta (cycads)
Phylum Ginkgophyta (ginkgos)
Phylum Coniferophyta (conifers, e.g. pines)
Phylum Gnetophyta (gnetophytes)
Phylum Magnoliophyta (flowering plants or
angiosperms)
PHYLUM BRYOPHYTA
PHYLUM HEPATOPHYTA
Liverworts are small green plants living Mosses are also small green plants,
mostly in moist terrestrial habitats. often in moist habitats, but some occur
Thalloid liverworts are flat and liver- in arid environments. They are erect
like in shape. Leafy liverworts have a or creeping plants with small, simple
branching structure with two or three leaves, and most have a single midrib
rows of small, simple leaves. (line) of elongated cells (lacking in leafy
liverworts). Spores are produced in a
capsule at the end of an upright stalk.
PHYLA LYCOPHYTA,
PSILOPHYTA AND
SPHENOPHYTA
These three phyla are often called
PHYLUM ‘fern allies’. They are vascular plants
ANTHOCEROPHYTA that reproduce by spores. Lycopods
Hornworts resemble thalloid or club mosses (phylum Lycophyta)
liverworts but have a long, needle-like were once very important in ancient
sporophyte. Some hornworts contain forests; they were the first land plants to
cavities occupied by colonies of Nostoc evolve roots. Club mosses today include
cyanobacteria. Selaginella. Psilotum and Tmesipteris
(phylum Psilophyta) are the only living
representatives of their phylum and are
found in Australia. Horsetails (phylum
Sphenophyta) are mostly known from
24_Biology1si_APP Sec1:479
fossil plants but one surviving genus
is Equisetum, known as scouring rush
because its stem is rough and full of
silicate crystals.
PHYLUM FILICOPHYTA
Ferns have a vascular system of xylem
and phloem and are larger plants than
bryophytes. They often have large leaves
with spores on the underside. They are
usually ground plants in moist, shaded
habitats, but some are tree-like (e.g.
tree-ferns Dicksonia and Cyathea) and
a few (e.g. Azolla) are aquatic, floating
on the surface of water. Austral bracken
(Pteridium esculentum) is a common
species found in drier habitats. It
spreads by an underground stem,
called a rhizome.
PHYLUM CYCADOPHYTA
Cycads are palm-like with large,
subdivided leaves. They produce
male and female spores in cones. Two
examples in Australia are Cycas and
Macrozamia.
PHYLUM GINKGOPHYTA
Ginkgos include many fossil plants and
only one living species, the maidenhair
tree (Ginkgo biloba), which is native to
China. Ginkgo has fan-shaped leaves
with veins branching dichotomously,
and it is deciduous. Male and female
spores are produced in cone-like
structures on male and female trees.
Ginkgo is often planted in gardens or
streets.
PHYLUM CONIFEROPHYTA
Conifers are large woody plants.
They produce seeds in cones. Their
479
Appendix
28/10/05 12:31:28 PM
 leaves are usually needle or scale-like.
The group is more common in the
northern hemisphere (e.g. Pinus) than
in Australia. Native cypress-pines
(Callitris) occur in Victoria.
PHYLUM GNETOPHYTA
Gnetophytes are an ancient group of
seed plants related to flowering plants.
They include only three living genera
today: Gnetum (vines and small trees
of the tropics), Ephedra (switch bushes
of arid areas in North America) and
Welwitschia (native to the Namibian
desert in Africa).
PHYLUM MAGNOLIOPHYTA
Flowering plants or angiosperms
all form flowers and produce seeds
enclosed within fruits. There are more
than 250 000 species of angiosperms,
and they are classified into two
main groups: dicotyledons (class
Magnoliopsida) and monocotyledons
(class Liliopsida).
Class M agnoliopsida
(or Dicotyledonae; e.g. roses, daisies,
buttercups, eucalypts)
Dicotyledons (or dicots) have seeds
containing an embryo with two leaves.
These embryonic leaves are cotyledons,
hence the name dicotyledon. The
leaves of dicots have veins in a net-like
arrangement. The sepals, petals and
stamens of the flower are usually
in multiples of 4 or 5. Some common
dicot families are described here.
Family Apiaceae (e.g. parsley)
Usually herbs, often aromatic and
poisonous; leaves compound or highly
dissected (e.g. parsley leaf); flower
parts in 5s; flowers arise at a common
point, forming a cluster (called an
umbel); e.g. celery (Apium), pennyworts
(Hydrocotyle).
480
Appendix
24_Biology1si_APP Sec1:480
Family Asteraceae (daisies)
Small flowers grouped together in dense
heads, each head appearing like one
large flower; trees, shrubs or herbs; e.g.
dandelions (Taraxacum).
Family Brassicaceae
(mustard, etc.)
Herbs with mustard or cabbage-like
smell; flowers with 4 sepals, 4 petals, 4
long and 2 short stamens, superior ovary
of 2 carpels; many are used as salads
or vegetables, e.g. cabbage, broccoli,
cauliflower (Brassica oleracea).
Family Ericaceae (heaths)
Shrubs with small, hard leaves with
veins arranged in parallel; flower parts bacteria in root nodules; e.g. Acacia.
in 4s or 5s; petals fused to form a tube;
stamens fused to the petals; superior
ovary of usually 5 carpels; e.g. common
heath (Epacris impressa). (Australian
members of this family were once
classified in the family Epacridaceae,
but that is now a subfamily within the
world-wide family Ericaceae.)
Family Fabaceae
(peas or legumes)
Herbs, vines, shrubs or trees often
with root nodules containing nitrogen-
fixing bacteria; leaves often pinnate
or trifoliate (e.g. clover leaf); flowers
bilaterally symmetrical, with 5 unequal
petals, upper petal usually the largest,
2 lateral ones and 2 lower ones joined
along one edge; 10 stamens; fruit often
a legume (pea pod); most important
family of food plants such as pulses
(beans, peas) and oil (soya); e.g. peas
(Pisum), french beans (Phaseolus),
clovers (Trifolium).
Family Geraniaceae (geraniums)
Herbs or shrubs usually with an
aromatic smell (oils in glandular hairs);
leaves often lobed or dissected; flowers
with 5 sepals, 5 petals and 10 stamens;
e.g. Geranium, Pelargonium.
Family Lamiaceae (mints)
Herbs, shrubs or rarely trees with an
aromatic mint or mint-like smell; young
stems often 4-angled; pairs of leaves
arranged opposite one another on the
stem; flowers bilaterally symmetrical;
medicinal and culinary herbs include
mints (Mentha), rosemary (Rosmarinus),
thyme (Thymus) and lavenders
(Lavandula).
Family Mimosaceae (wattles)
Mostly shrubs and trees with small
cream or yellow flowers grouped in
globular heads or cylindrical spikes;
related to peas; form seeds in a pod
(legume), and have nitrogen-fixing
Family Myrtaceae (myrtles)
Shrubs and trees; leaves with oil glands
appearing as dots when held to the
light; flowers with many stamens; fruits
either fleshy (e.g. lilly pilly, Acmena) or
woody (e.g. tea tree, Leptospermum); e.g.
Callistemon, Eucalyptus, Melaleuca.
Family Proteaceae
(banksias, etc.)
Shrubs and trees often with tough
leathery leaves spirally arranged on
stems; flowers with petal-like structures
united to form a tube with four lobes
that separate and bend back when the
flower opens; 4 stamens joined to the
lobes; e.g. Banksia, Grevillea, Hakea,
Macadamia, Persoonia.
Family Rutaceae (citrus)
Shrubs and trees with an aromatic smell;
oil glands in leaves, leaves are alternate
on stems; flower parts in 4s or 5s with
petals joined at the base to form a cup;
e.g. Boronia and important fruit trees
such as oranges and lemons (Citrus).
28/10/05 12:31:31 PM

Family Solanaceae (tomatoes)
Herbs, vines, shrubs and trees with
branched hairs and often prickles; plants
contain alkaloids, some poisonous;
flower parts in 5s with the petals
forming a tube; stamens joined to
the petals; e.g. potato and egg-plant
(Solanum), tomato (Lycopersicon),
peppers (Capsicum), tobacco
(Nicotiana), petunias (Petunia).
Class Liliopsida
(or Monocotyledonae—e.g. grasses,
lilies, palms, daffodils)
Monocotyledons have only one
embryonic leaf. The leaves of monocots
have veins arranged in parallel, and
the parts of the flower are usually in
multiples of 3. Some common families
are described here.
Family Iridaceae (irises)
Herbs, often with bulbs; 6 petal-
like parts usually brightly coloured,
often arranged in 2 distinct groups; 3
stamens; e.g. freesias (Freesia), gladioli
(Gladiolus), native irises (Patersonia).
Family Liliaceae (lilies)
Herbs, often with bulbs; 6 petal-like terrestrial, living in soil and dung.
parts usually brightly coloured and all
similar; 6 stamens; e.g. onions (Alium),
grass-trees (Xanthorrhoea), asparagus
(Asparagus).
Family Orchidaceae (orchids)
Herbs, some growing on tree trunks;
flowers bilaterally symmetrical with
one of the petals forming a lip; e.g.
spider-orchids (Caladenia), greenhoods
(Pterostylis).
24_Biology1si_APP Sec1:481
Family Poaceae (grasses)
Leaves long and narrow; stems hollow;
flowers small and inside leaf-like
structures (bracts); e.g. lawn grasses
(e.g. Poa), kangaroo grass (Themeda),
cereal crops such as wheats (Triticum)
and corns (Zea), reeds (Phragmites),
bamboos (e.g. Bambusa).
Kingdom Fungi
Fungi have cells that are usually
organised into thread-like filaments
(hyphae), which form a mass called
a mycelium. Fungi secrete digestive
enzymes over their food and absorb
the breakdown products. Many fungi
live on dead organic matter and are
decomposers, while others are parasites
of plants and animals. Fungi reproduce
by spores.
Fungi include a number of major
groups, four of which are classified as
‘natural’ phyla.
PHYLUM
CHYTRIDIOMYCOTA
Chytrids are microscopic and
widespread, occurring in soil, bogs, fresh
water and salt water, and even inside
plants and animals. They are single-
celled or form short chains of cells, but
rarely hyphae.
PHYLUM ZYGOMYCOTA
Zygomycetes include bread mould,
Rhizopus. It forms a white or greyish
mycelium on bread. The hyphae are
not divided into separate cells by
cross-walls. Some of the hyphae grow
upright and produce spherical-shaped
structures called sporangia (singular
= sporangium) from which spores
are released into the air to spread the
fungus. Most members of this group are
PHYLUM ASCOMYCOTA
Ascomycetes are a large group of
diverse fungi, including yeasts (e.g.
Baker’s yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae),
powdery mildews, cottony moulds,
wood-rotting fungi, truffles and cup
fungi. During sexual reproduction, a
definite number of spores, usually eight,
is produced in a sac-like structure called
an ascus (hence the name Ascomycota).
PHYLUM BASIDIOMYCOTA
Basidiomycetes are mostly club
fungi, which include many of the large
fungi such as mushrooms, toadstools,
puffballs and bracket fungi. The phylum
also includes the rust fungi that cause
diseases (e.g. Puccinia graminis tritici
that infects wheat). Many are good to
eat but some are highly poisonous (e.g.
Amanita muscaria). The mushroom
that you see above ground is only
the fruiting body, where spores are
produced in club-shaped structures
called basidia, on the edge of the gills
on the undersurface of the mushroom
cap. An extensive mass of hyphae grows
below ground.
PHYLUM
DEUTEROMYCOTA
Deuteromycetes are called imperfect
fungi because they have lost the ability
for sexual reproduction (or it has not
been observed). They include many
economically important fungi such as
species of Penicillium used in medicine
and cheese-making (e.g. P. camembertii)
and Candida albicans that causes
thrush.
LICHENS
(LICHENISED FUNGI)
A lichen is a symbiotic relationship
between a green alga or cyanobacterium
and a fungus, usually an Ascomycete.
Lichens vary greatly in shape and
colour; some forming flat crusts on
rocks, while others are more leaf-like,
and others have different forms again.
They are classified according to the
fungal partner, but together they do not
form a true group of organisms.
481
Appendix
28/10/05 12:31:34 PM
 Kingdom Animalia
The following table includes only the common phyla.
Phylum Porifera (sponges)
Phylum Cnidaria (jellyfish)
Phylum Bryozoa (moss animals)
Phylum Rotifera (rotifers)
Phylum Platyhelminthes (flatworms)
Phylum Annelida (segmented worms)
Phylum Mollusca (molluscs)
Phylum Nematoda (nematodes or
roundworms)
Phylum Onycophora (velvet worms)
Phylum Arthropoda (arthropods also called
Euarthropoda)
Subphylum Chelicerata (scorpions, sea
spiders, spiders, ticks, mites)
Subphylum Crustacea (crabs, prawns,
slaters, barnacles)
Subphylum Uniramia (uniramians)
Phylum Echinodermata (sea stars, brittle
stars, sea urchins)
Phylum Chordata (chordates)
Subphylum Urochordata (sea squirts,
tunicates)
Subphylum Cephalochordata (amphioxus)
Subphylum Vertebrata (vertebrates)
482
Appendix
24_Biology1si_APP Sec1:482
Class Polychaeta (marine worms)
Class Oligochaeta (earthworms)
Class Hirudinoidea (leeches)
Class Polyplacophora (chitons)
Class Gastropoda (snails)
Class Bivalvia (clams, oysters)
Class Cephalopoda (squids,
octopuses, cuttlefish)
Class Chilopoda (centipedes)
Class Diplopoda (millipedes)
Class Insecta (insects)
Class Asteroidea (sea stars)
Class Ophiuroidea (brittle stars)
Class Echinoidea (sea urchins)
Class Holothuroidea (sea-
cucumbers)
Class Agnatha (jawless fishes)
Class Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous
fishes, sharks and rays)
Class Osteichthyes (bony fishes)
Class Amphibia (frogs, toads,
salamanders)
Class Reptilia (lizards, snakes,
crocodiles)
Class Aves (birds)
Class Mammalia (monotremes,
marsupials, placental
mammals, including humans)
PHYLUM PORIFERA
Sponges are aquatic, mostly marine
animals. Larvae are ciliated and free-
swimming, but adults are sessile, usually
attached to rocks. They are multi-
cellular, but not highly organised. They
have specialised cells, but lack digestive,
nervous and circulatory systems. Their
body has pores and chambers through
which water flows.
PHYLUM CNIDARIA
Cnidarians are radially symmetrical.
Their body wall has two layers. They
have few organs, a diffuse nervous
system and stinging cells (cnidocytes),
which may be poisonous. There is a
digestive cavity but with only one
opening functioning as both mouth
and anus. Tentacles are usually present.
Some form colonies. Examples include
marine jellyfish, sea anemones, corals
and freshwater hydras.
PHYLUM BRYOZOA
Moss animals are tiny, colonial and
sessile. Most are marine animals. They
are filter-feeders and their mouth is
surrounded by a ring of tentacles. Their
body is supported and protected by an
exoskeleton.
PHYLUM ROTIFERA
Rotifers are microscopic aquatic
animals with a ring of cilia at the
anterior end used for swimming and
sometimes feeding. When the cilia beat,
a rotifer looks like a rotating wheel,
hence the name. When feeding, they
attach themselves to a substrate, such as
a submerged plant, by a posterior foot
with adhesive toes. They are abundant
in fresh water.
28/10/05 12:31:36 PM
 PHYLUM
PLATYHELMINTHES
Flatworms are bilaterally symmetrical,
flattened, animals with a distinct head
end. When present, their digestive
cavity has only one opening as in
cnidarians. The phylum includes three
classes: freshwater planarians, flukes
and tapeworms. The last two groups
are parasites, often with complicated
reproductive cycles; e.g. blood fluke
(Schistosoma) and dog tapeworm
(Taenia pisiformis).
PHYLUM ANNELIDA
Annelids (segmented worms) are divided and move slowly over rocks in shallow
internally and externally into a series of water.
body segments.
Class Polychaeta
Polychaetes (marine worms) have
a well-defined head with eyes and
antennae. Each segment bears a pair of
lateral appendages (called parapodia)
that function in both locomotion and
gas exchange. The parapodia have
numerous bristles (the name Polychaeta
means ‘many bristles’). Some worms
move about and others live in tubes,
made from mud or sand. Examples
include sand worms (Arenicola) and
fanworms.
Class Oligochaeta
Oligochaetes include earthworms and
some freshwater worms that differ from
polychaetes in lacking a well-developed
head and parapodia; the body is almost
smooth with few bristles (the name
Oligochaeta means ‘few bristles’).
Class Hirudinoidea
Leeches are smaller than polychaetes
and oligochaetes, flattened and tapered
24_Biology1si_APP Sec1:483
at both ends. The first and last segments
are modified to form suckers used in
locomotion and attachment during
feeding. Many leeches are blood suckers.
PHYLUM MOLLUSCA
Molluscs are the second-largest phylum
in the animal kingdom. There is a great
diversity of body shapes and sizes, but
all molluscs have a muscular foot for
locomotion, a visceral mass above the
foot which contains the internal organs,
and a mantle, which is a heavy fold of
tissue which covers the visceral mass
and which, in most species, secretes a
shell.
Class Polyplacophora
Chitons are bilaterally symmetrical
with a shell consisting of eight plates
and a reduced head. They are marine
Class Gastropoda
Gastropods (snails) usually have a
coiled shell, and some, the nudibranchs,
have lost their shell. They have a
distinct head with well-developed sense
organs. Most are marine, but some
live in freshwater and some on land.
Examples include periwinkles, land
snails, limpets and abalones.
Class Bivalvia
Bivalves are laterally compressed and
have a shell consisting of two parts
or valves hinged dorsally. Most live
sedentary lives as adults, attached to
rocks or other submerged substrates.
They have a reduced head and large
gills that are used for filter feeding.
Bivalves include clams, oysters, scallops
and mussels.
Class Cephalopoda
Cephalopods (squids, octopuses,
cuttlefish) have an elongate body with
a large well-developed head encircled
by long tentacles. As predators, many
are large and move rapidly by jet
propulsion. They have evolved many
similarities with vertebrate animals;
they have a well-developed nervous
system and eyes that are similar to
those of mammals.
PHYLUM NEMATODA
Nematodes (roundworms) have long
cylindrical bodies that taper to a point
at each end. Many are microscopically
small. They move by characteristic
whip-like undulations of the body.
Nematodes are very common in garden
soil or water; some are parasites of
plants and animals, including humans,
e.g. hookworms, filarial nematodes
(which cause elephantiasis).
PHYLUM ONYCOPHORA
Velvet worms (e.g. Peripatoides) look
like slugs with legs. Their body has an
iridescent, velvety appearance. Most
live in rainforests of the tropics, under
logs and litter. They are related to
arthropods.
PHYLUM ARTHROPODA
Arthropods comprise the largest
animal phylum. They have a jointed
exoskeleton, made of chiton, and
jointed legs.
SUBPHYLUM CHELICERATA
Chelicerates (horseshoe crabs,
scorpions, spiders, mites and ticks) lack
antennae. The first pair of appendages
behind the mouth is modified for
feeding and are called chelicerae (from
the Greek for ‘claw’, chele).
Class Arachnida
Arachnids comprise the largest class of
arthropods and include spiders, ticks,
mites and scorpions; most have two
body regions (a cephalothorax and an
abdomen) and all have 4 pairs of legs.
SUBPHYLUM UNIRAMIA
Uniramians (centipedes, millipedes
and insects) have 1 pair of antennae,
compared with none for arachnids and
2 pairs for crustaceans.
Class Chilopoda
Centipedes (‘hundred feet’) have a
head and a flattened trunk. The legs
of the first segment of the trunk are
modified as large poisonous claws;
the other trunk segments each bear
1 pair of walking legs. Centipedes are
terrestrial carnivores.
483
Appendix
28/10/05 12:31:38 PM

Class Diplopoda
Millipedes (‘thousand feet’)
superficially look like centipedes, but
they have no poison claws and are not
carnivores; they feed on dead organic
matter. Each body segment (except a Order Hymenoptera
few at the front and rear) has 2 pairs Wasps, bees, ants and sawflies usually
of legs.
Class Insecta
Insects are a large and very diverse
group. They live in all types of
habitats on land and in freshwater,
but they do not live in the sea. The
body of an insect is divided into
three parts—the head, thorax and
abdomen. The head bears one pair
of antennae and the thorax bears 3
pairs of legs. Many species have wings on land or in water.
as adults. Some orders of insects are
desribed here.
Order Thysanura
Silverfish have long antennae and
three ‘tails’ that extend from the
posterior end; they are wingless, but
run fast. They are common in houses. Order Lepidoptera
Order Collembola
Springtails are minute insects that
live in soil and forest litter. They lack
wings but jump using a spring-like
structure at the tip of the abdomen.
Order Odonota
Dragonflies and damselflies are
fast-flying predators. They have 2
pairs of long, membranous wings,
large compound eyes and chewing
mouthparts. Immature stages are
nymphs, which live in fresh water.
Order Orthoptera
Grasshoppers and crickets have 2
pairs of wings; the fore-wings are not
used in flight but cover and protect
the folded hind-wings when the
animal is resting.
Order Neuroptera
Lacewings are slow-flying and soft-
bodied. They have 2 pairs of large
membranous wings, and biting mouth-
parts.
Order Hemiptera
Bugs have piercing-sucking
mouthparts and usually 2 pairs of
484
Appendix
24_Biology1si_APP Sec1:484
wings. Examples include aphids, mostly sedentary marine organisms,
cicadas, water-boatmen, leaf-hoppers and are radially symmetrical as adults.
and scale insects. Sea stars and brittle stars have a body
Order Coleoptera drawn out into arms. They all possess
a unique water vascular system that
Beetles and weevils have 2 pairs of
is used in locomotion, feeding and gas
wings; the fore-wings are hard and
exchange. In sea stars and sea urchins
form a protective cover for the hind-
the water vascular system ends in
wings when the insect is resting. They
rows of water-filled tube feet, each
have chewing mouthparts. Their
tipped with a sucker. Echinodermata
larvae are grubs with jointed legs.
means ‘spiny skins’. The most
common living echinoderms are
desribed here.
have 2 pairs of membranous wings Class Asteroidea
and a narrow waist connecting the
Sea stars are star-shaped and
thorax and abdomen.
flattened; they have 5 or more arms
Order Diptera that are broad at the base where they
Flies and mosquitoes have 1 pair of join the central disc.
membranous wings for flight and Class Ophiuroidea
highly modified hind-wings that
Brittle stars have 5 long, slender arms
act as balancing organs. They have
that are sharply distinct from the
piercing-sucking mouthparts. Their
central disc.
larvae are worm-like maggots living
Class Echinoidea
Order Trichoptera Sea urchins are spherical or disc-
shaped. They do not have arms like
Caddisflies are moth-like, with 2
sea stars. Spines project from the
pairs of wings covered in scales or
body, and the skeleton is fused to
hairs. Their larvae are aquatic and
form a rigid internal shell.
live in cases made of leaf fragments
or sticks.
Moths and butterflies have 2 pairs of
wings that are covered with scales.
Larvae have chewing mouthparts and
adults have sucking mouthparts.
SUBPHYLUM CRUSTACEA
Crustaceans (crayfish, crabs, prawns,
slaters, barnacles) are mostly marine,
but some live in fresh water and
Class Holothuroidea
some on land. They have 2 pairs Sea-cucumbers are sausage-shaped
of antennae and many appendages and have a leathery skin. They do
(1 pair per body segment or less). not have arms or spines, but have
Common examples include crayfish, tentacles around the mouth.
crabs, shrimps, slaters and barnacles,
which are grouped into different
classes and orders.
PHYLUM CHORDATA
PHYLUM Chordates have gill slits at some stage
in their development, a notochord,
ECHINODERMATA and a dorsal nerve cord.
Sea stars (or star fish), brittlestars,
sea urchins and sea cucumbers are
28/10/05 12:31:39 PM
 SUBPHYLUM
UROCHORDATA
Sea squirts and tunicates are marine
animals that are sessile as adults, living
attached to rocks and pilings.
They are filter feeders, have gill slits,
and an open circulatory system. The
larvae look like tiny fish or tadpoles and
have a notochord and dorsal nerve cord.
SUBPHYLUM
CEPHALOCHORDATA
Lancelets are small, marine, burrowing,
fish-like chordates without a head; e.g.
amphioxus (Branchiostoma).
SUBPHYLUM VERTEBRATA
Vertebrates are animals that generally
develop a backbone. They have a head
with eyes and a brain.
Class Agnatha
Most jawless fishes are known only
as fossils, but living examples include
lampreys and hagfishes. Lampreys and
hagfishes have a skeleton of cartilage,
no paired fins, and a jawless mouth
modified as a round sucker lined with
horny teeth; they are parasites that
attach themselves to other fishes.
Class Chondrichthyes
Sharks, rays and chimeras have a
cartilaginous skeleton, lack a swim
bladder, and have internal fertilisation.
Sharks have two paired fins—pectoral
(‘arm’) and pelvic (‘leg’) fins—which
make them agile swimmers. The
pectoral fins of skates and rays are
extended into ‘wings’.
Class Osteichthyes
Bony fishes, as their name suggests,
have a bony skeleton. Bony fishes use
gills, and some a swimbladder or lung,
for gas exchange. The swimbladder is an
internal gas-filled organ that can change
24_Biology1si_APP Sec1:485
in volume so that a fish can maintain
zero buoyancy at any depth. Bony fishes
come in all shapes and sizes and include
large tunas, freshwater trout, lungfishes
(Australian lungfish, Neoceratodus), eels
and sea horses.
The following classes are the tetrapods,
meaning four-footed.
Class Amphibia
Amphibians (frogs, toads, and
salamanders) live or reproduce in
freshwater and damp land habitats.
Their larvae (e.g. tadpoles) are usually
aquatic and have gills. The adults have
lungs, and moist skins with no scales.
The adult’s heart has a single, undivided
ventricle.
Class Reptilia
Reptiles (turtles, crocodiles, snakes,
lizards and monitors) live on land and
in water. Both the young and adults
have lungs. They have dry, scaly skin.
Their eggs have membranous shells. The
ventricle of their heart is undivided,
except in crocodiles.
Class Aves
Birds are the largest class of terrestrial
vertebrates. They have feathers
(modified scales), and their front
appendages are modified as wings. The
shells of their eggs are hard. Their
heart is completely divided, separating
oxygenated and de-oxygenated blood.
They are endothermic. Modern
birds form two major groups, the
Palaeognathae and Neognathae.
Superorder Palaeognathae
Ratites and tinamous are large flightless
birds with enlarged hind legs and feet;
living ratite birds are ostriches, rheas,
emus, cassowaries, and kiwis; moas
became extinct in New Zealand only
300 years ago.
Superorder Neognathae
Carinates have well-formed sternal
keels, to which the flight muscles
are attached. There are two groups
of carinates: passeriform and non-
passeriform.
Passeriform birds are perching or
songbirds (Passer is the sparrow genus).
The group includes swallows, crows,
starlings, sparrows, finches, honeyeaters,
wrens and many other birds. They have
feet adapted for perching, with three
toes in front and one well-developed
toe behind.
Non-passeriform birds include
penguins, grebes, albatrosses, pelicans,
herons, ducks, geese, cranes, hawks,
pigeons, kingfishers, parrots and owls.
Class Mammalia
Most mammals live on land. They have
hair (modified scales), mammary glands
in females that produce milk, and a
completely divided heart, and they are
endothermic. Some of the mammalian
orders are described here.
Order Monotremata
Monotremes include the Australian
platypus (Ornithorhynchus) and
echidnas (Tachyglossus). They are
egg-laying mammals. Their mammary
glands lack nipples.
Order Marsupialia
Marsupials have young born at an early
stage of development, then transferred
to a pouch where they complete their
development attached to a nipple.
They are mostly Australian and include
kangaroos, wallabies, Tasmanian tigers,
quolls, possums, wombats, the koala and
marsupial mice.
Eutherian mammals
The following orders are the eutherian
mammals (also called ‘placental
mammals’), in which the young develop
to a mature stage in the uterus.
Order Insectivora
Insectivorans, as their name suggests,
eat insects; they have numerous teeth,
usually long-pointed snouts, and feet
with five toes and claws. Examples are
hedgehogs, moles and shrews.
485
Appendix
28/10/05 12:31:41 PM
 Order Lagomorpha
Rabbits and hares are gnawing animals
that have four upper chisel-like incisor
teeth.
Order Rodentia
Rodents have teeth that are similar
to rabbits but have only two upper
incisors. They include rats, mice, guinea
pigs, squirrels and porcupines.
Order Carnivora Order Chiroptera
Carnivores are flesh-eating and have Bats have a web of skin between the
large canine teeth and usually sharp fingers and between the front and hind
claws for hunting. They include terres- limbs, allowing them to fly.
trial carnivores—wolves, foxes, dogs, Order Sirenia
bears, panda, skunks, and cats (e.g. the
Sea-cows (dugongs and manatees) are
domestic cat Felis catus)—and marine
aquatic herbivores. They have a broad
carnivores (seals, sea lions
flat tail and no hind limbs.
and walruses).
Order Proboscidea
Elephants are herbivores; their upper
incisors are modified as tusks, and their
nose and upper lip as a trunk. The two
living members of this order are the
African elephant, Loxodonta; and the
Indian elephant, Elephas.

Order Cetacea
Cetaceans (whales, dolphins and
porpoises) have their front limbs
modified as flippers for swimming, and
lack hind limbs. The adults lack hair.
Order Perissodactyla
Odd-toed ungulates are herbivores with chimpanzees) lack a tail, have front
well-developed molars. They have an
uneven number of toes (e.g. one, three
or five) modified as hooves. The group
includes horses (Equus), donkeys and
rhinoceroses.
Order Artiodactyla
Even-toed ungulates include pigs,
camels, deer, antelopes, cattle, goats and
sheep. They have an even number of
toes (two or four) modified as hooves.
They are herbivores and have complex
stomachs.
Order Primates
Primates (lemurs, monkeys, gibbons,
apes and humans) have eyes usually
directed forward, and nails instead of
claws. Of the families within this order,
apes (once family Pongidae) are now
classified with humans in the family
Hominidae.
Apes (orang-utan, gorilla and
limbs longer than hind limbs, thumb
and big toe opposable, flattened nails,
and protruding jaw.
Hominids (Homo) lack a tail, have
front limbs shorter than hind limbs,
thumb but not big toe opposable,
flattened nails, and stand upright.
Modern humans are Homo sapiens.

486
Appendix

24_Biology1si_APP Sec1:486 28/10/05 12:31:42 PM