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Invertebrate Definition
Invertebrates are animals that don’t have a backbone. The vertebral column is another name for the backbone. Over 90% of all species on Earth are invertebrates, and invertebrate species have been found in the fossil record as far back as 600 million years ago. Molecular biology studies suggest that all invertebrates evolved from a single invertebrate group.
Characteristics of Invertebrates
In addition to not having a backbone, invertebrates have soft bodies because they don’t have an internal skeleton (endoskeleton) for support. Instead, many have structures on the outside (exoskeleton) that provide support and protection. In addition, invertebrates are cold-blooded, meaning they can’t regulate their body temperature, so it changes depending on the environment.
Invertebrates are incredibly diverse. They live in fresh water, salt water, on land and as parasites in other animals. There are invertebrates that are carnivorous (meat eaters), herbivores (plant eaters) and omnivores (meat and plant eaters). There are even some invertebrate species that grow bacteria and cells inside their bodies that make their food. Some invertebrates stay in one spot, while others fly, swim, float, crawl and burrow.
Types of Invertebrates
Eighty-five percent of invertebrates – some 923,000 species – are arthropods. Mollusks have approximately 100,000 distinct species. Some of the most common types of invertebrates are:
protozoans – single-celled organisms such as amoebas and paramecia
annelids – earthworms, leeches
echinoderms – starfish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers
mollusks – snails, octopi, squid, snails, clams
arthropods – insects, spiders, crustaceans such as shrimp, crabs, lobsters
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