Question 13: Name major phyla of Animal kingdom. Write down one character and one example of each of them.

Answer: Kingdom Animalia has been classified into 11 major phylums. These are:

1. Phylum Porifera:  
These are the simplest, multiThe Fundamental Unit of Lifeular, diploblastic, asymmetrical or radially symmetrical animals. Example: Sycon.

2. Phylum Cnidaria or Coelenterata:
These are diploblastic, radially symmetrical organisms with tissue level of organisation. Example: Hydra.

3. Phylum Ctenophora: 
They are bilaterally symmetrical, triploblastic animals with eight longitudinal rows of ciliary comb-plates for locomotion.
Example: Pleurobrachia.

4. Phylum Platyhelminthes:
They are bilaterally symmetrical, triploblastic, acoelomate and hermaphrodite animals.
Example: Taenia solium.

5. Phylum Nematoda:
They are bilaterally symmetrical, triploblastic, pseudocoelomate and unsegmented animals.
Example: Ascaris.

6. Phylum Annelida:
They are bilaterally symmetrical, triploblastic, true coelomate animals.
Example: Hirudinaria.

7. Phylum Arthropoda:
They are triploblastic, bilaterally symmetrical, haemocoelomate animals with metamerically segmented body.
Example: Palaemon.

8. Phylum Mollusca:
They are bilaterally symmetrical, haemocoelomate animals with little segmentation.
Example: Chiton.

9. Phylum Echinodermata
They are triploblastic, coelomate, radially symmetrical animals with spiny hard calcareous endoskeleton.
Example: Antedon.

10. Phylum Hemichordata
They are bilaterally symmetrical animals with unsegmented body and have gill slits for respiration.
Example: Balanoglossus.

11. Phylum Chordata:
They possess dorsal, hollow, tubular nerve cord with a presence of notochord and paired gill-slits in the pharynx.
Example: Herdmania.