Animal Classification | Evolution | Biology FuseSchool

All living things are grouped into five kingdoms. In this video, we are going to look at the animal kingdom in more detail. Make sure to watch our video 'Classifying Organisms' first. There are thought to be over 7.5 million species of animal on planet Earth, of which 900,000 have been described. These are arranged into over 30 phyla, of which these are the nine most common: Porifera, Cnidaria, Platyhelminthes, Nematoda, Mollusca, Annelida, Arthropoda, Echinodermata and Chordata. These are the five main animal phyla: arthropods, annelids, molluscs, nematodes and chordata. A big question to ask when classifying animals is "Do they have a backbone?" If yes, they area vertebrate. If no, they are an invertebrate. The chordata contain all of the vertebrates. Not all chordates are vertebrates, but all vertebrates are chordates.