“Invertebrates” include all animals exclusive of vertebrates, in an artificial division set up centuries ago. Of the 34 or so major divisions (phyla) of animal life, 33 and 2/3 are “invertebrate”.
Animals come in a bewildering diversity of forms and pursue an amazing breadth of life styles, including sponges, corals, worms, mollusks, arthropods, echinoderms, and chordates.
Invertebrate Highlights
Alpheus dolerus & Asymmetrione
The Alpheus dolerus is one of 250 described snapping shrimp in the Alpheus genus. The family Alpheidae is made up…
Triactis producta
The sea anemone Triactis producta (Klunzinger, 1877) Triactis producta is the only species in the sea anemone (Actiniaria) genus Triactis…
Glyptoxanthus labyrinthicus
Labyrinth crab, Glyptoxanthus labyrinthicus (Stimpson, 1860) The labyrinth crab, Glyptoxanthus labyrinthicus (Stimpson, 1860), is one of 8 species in the...
Pearsonothuria graeffei
Sea cucumber, Pearsonothuria graeffei Pearsonothuria graeffei is a member of the most diverse family of sea cucumbers on coral reefs, the…
Mesodon altivagus
Wandering globe snail, Mesodon altivagus (Pilsbry, 1900) This large and beautiful snail is found in only one patch of spruce-fir and northern…