It helps to have some good understanding of the individual creatures and how they differ from each other, therefore to help with memorizing such features, I have devised a few methods. There are several phyla we are trying to focus on in this discussion.
Porifera are the sponges which are distinguished by collar cells, or choanocytes. I will remember PORifera members are POuRous (pourous) so I do not forget they are covered in porocytes. However, the choanocytes are in the sponge and they are where the porocytes pump water to (Choanocytes reminds me of the words “Chamber site” so I am going to remember them that way.
Cnidaria, which can be differentiated by the presence of nematocysts can be recognized as jellyfishes,, sea jellies, corals and sea anemones. Cnidaria is easier for me to remember if I recognize it as cniDARia, which has “DAR” Which is like dare…and because of the nematocysts, I would DARe not touch one!
Platyhelminthes, or flatworms, are the turbellarians, flukes, and tapeworms which have a flattened body. I will try to remember Platy- is like Flatty. And they are flattened creatures.
Annelida are segmented worms like polychaetes, oligochaetes and leeches and they are segmented. Annelida are the segmented creatures, and I will put it in my memory as anneLIDa which is like lots of lids all stuck together (as though trying to picture a segmented creature made of jar lids). An earthworm when you look at it, is an annelid and it has the segments.
Mollusca, such as snails, clams, oysters, octopuses and chitons are all distinguished because they have a foot, mantle, radula (which may not be in all groups). I will remember them and their qualities by studying them. Some of them dig and bury themselves like moles, so that helps me to remember mole=moll(lusc).
Arthropoda, known for their exoskeleton and jointed legs contain the crustaceans such as shrimps, crabs and insects. Remembering arthropoda includes crustanceans because pod and crust make me think they go together (pods are containers for things like seeds, and there are crusts on pies, well, arthropoda have exoskeletons, and that will help me remember they are “covered” and they have joints because they are essentially armored.
Echinodermata,which are the creatures such as sea stars, sea cucumbers, sea urchins and brittle stars are known for having tube feet, five way radical symmetry and they contain a water vascular system. Echino means prickly and sea urchins have spines, also if you’ve ever pet a sea star, you will feel it is bumpy/prickly.
Chordata have members in the family such as tunicates, vetebrates like fishes, reptiles, birds and mammals. The chordata are distinguished by their dorsal, hollow nerve cord, gill slits and notochord. So I will remember the hollow never cords and notochords because chord is in the phyla’s name.
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