- For use of the word in linguistics, see Phylum (linguistics)
Phylum (plural: phyla) is a taxon used in the classification of life, adopted from the Greek phylai the clan-based voting groups in Greek city-states. (Although the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature allows the use of the term "Phylum", the term "Division" is almost always used by botanists.) Phyla represent the largest generally accepted groupings of animals and other living things with certain evolutionary traits, although the phyla themselves may sometimes be grouped into superphyla (e.g. Ecdysozoa with eight phyla, including arthropods and roundworms, and Deuterostomia with the echinoderms, chordates, hemichordates and arrow worms).
The best known animal phyla are the Mollusca, Porifera, Cnidaria, Platyhelminthes, Nematoda, Annelida, Arthropoda, Echinodermata, and Chordata, the phylum humans belong to. Although there are approximately 35 phyla, these nine include the majority of the species. Many phyla are exclusively marine, and only one phylum is entirely absent from the world's oceans: the Onychophora or velvet worms.
List of Animal Phyla
| Phylum | Meaning | Distinguishing Characteristics |
| Acanthocephala | Thorny head | Evertable spiny proboscis |
| Annelida | Little rings | Multiple circular segments |
| Arthropoda | Jointed foot | Chitin exoskeleton |
| Brachiopoda | Arm foot | |
| Bryozoa | Moss animals | |
| Chaetognatha | Long hair jaw | |
| Chelicerata | Pincers | |
| Chordata | Cord | Hollow dorsal nervous chord |
| Cnidaria | Stinging nettle | Having nematocysts (stinging cells) |
| Ctenophora | Comb bearer | Eight "comb rows" of fused cilia |
| Cycliophora | Small wheel carrying | Circular mouth surrounded by small cilia |
| Echinodermata | Spiny skin | Five-fold radial symmetry, mesodermal calcified spines |
| Echiura | Spine tail | Set of hooks at posterior end |
| Entoprocta | Inside anus | Anus inside ring of cilia |
| Gastroticha | Hair stomach | |
| Gnathostomula | Jaw orifice | |
| Hemichordata | Half cord | Stomochord in collar |
| Kinorhyncha | Motion snout | |
| Loricifera | Corset bearer | |
| Mollusca | Thin shell | |
| Nematoda | Thread like | |
| Nematomorpha | Thread form | |
| Nemertina | A sea nymph | |
| Onychophora | Claw bearer | Legs tipped by chitinous claws |
| Orthonectida | Straight swim | |
| Pentastoma | Five orifice | Five lobed head |
| Phorona | Zeus' mistress | U-shaped gut |
| Placozoa | Tubular animals | |
| Platyhelminthes | Flat worms | |
| Pogonophora | Beard carrier | |
| Porifera | Pore bearer | |
| Priapula | Penis | Retractable proboscis surrounded by papillae |
| Rhombozoa | Lozenge animal | |
| Rotifera | Wheel bearer | Anterior crown of cilia |
| Sipuncula | Small tube | |
| Symplasma | ||
| Tardigrada | Slow step | |
| Uniramia | Single branch |
External links
- American Heritage Dictionary: New Latin phylum, from Greek phūlon, class.
- Online Etymological Dictionary: from Gk. phylon "race, stock," related to phyle "tribe, clan," and phylein "bring forth" of physikos "pertaining to nature," from physis "nature"
