10 Characteristics of Invertebrates

We explain what invertebrate animals are, how these species are classified and what their main characteristics are.

What are invertebrate animals?

Invertebrate animals are those that They lack any type of internal skeleton, whether bony or cartilaginous.. They are generally small animals, and the variety of species they include is very wide.

It serves as a large categorization scale for a group of animals, in contrast to those that fall into the classification of vertebrates.. But these are not completely unrelated, both classifications even include within themselves a clearly established group of animal species that share certain characteristics between them.

The invertebrates They form the largest group of animals on our planetand although it is very characteristic that many of them are covered or protected by some type of hard cover, such as the shell of a snail, the most important thing is that they lack a spine.

Below we list the characteristics, examples of invertebrates and their classification.

See also: Carnivorous animals.

Characteristics of Invertebrates:

1. They represent 95% of the species

The invertebrates They cover 95% of all species existing todayThis classification includes both animals that are not yet evolved as well as the most evolved ones.

2. Most are arthropods

Most invertebrate animals are arthropods, among which we can find insects that are the majority of this animal species which represents the group of invertebrate animals, but within the invertebrate arthropods we can also name: Crustaceans, Myriapods and Arachnids.

3. They have an internal classification

As we have seen before, within the group of invertebrates, we can find other classifications such as arthropods, but also: mollusks, jellyfish, sponges, worms and echinoderms.

4. Their bodies are very varied

Due to the variety of invertebrate species, we can find functional and structural variations. And we can clarify that: insects have a body with a head, thorax and abdomen. Arachnids and Crustaceans have a body divided into a cephalothorax and abdomen. And Mollusks have a body divided into: head, foot, visceral mass and mantle.

5. They share some type of symmetry

Despite finding characteristics that are met in all the animals that make up this group, there is a good proportion that share one or another similarity, within which we can name that some present Radial Symmetrywhile others present Bilateral Symmetry, which are called Radiated or Bilateral

6. They do not have specific habitat

Due to the great variety of species that make up this classification of animals, it is possible to find them in any space, both in the air as on the groundbut even some are aquatic.

You may be interested in: Starfish.

7. Relationship with vertebrates

Despite being two classifications with a clear and specific distinction, there is a link between them, since Vertebrates come from the evolution of invertebrates. Well, let’s make it clear that invertebrates are older, and vertebrates were formed from them.

8. Some species are attracted by song

In order to follow the goal of all living beings, which is to preserve species through reproduction, some invertebrates use song, for the first step which is attraction. Among them: crickets, cicadas, grasshoppers.

9. Most have mobility

In general, almost all invertebrates They have the ability to moveEven sponges (which are immobile as adults) are mobile in their breeding stages. Therefore, locomotion is a good characteristic of invertebrate animals.

10. They undergo metamorphosis

Most of them, represented by insects, experience a process of major structural and functional changes, from birth to adulthood. Specifically, insects show cyclical growth, in which there are periods of both high activity and static periods.

See also: Butterflies.