Porifera - "pore-bearing" - contains the sponges. Porifera might be the oldest group of animals, which would make it the first group to branch from Animalia. Sponges typically have porous bodies to filter food from the water, although some sponges have evolved to be carnivorous.

Cnidaria - "nettle" - are animals with stinging cells, including jellyfish, corals, anemones, and hydroids. Cnidarians have an uncentralized nervous system and are made of a jelly substance called mesoglea. Many cnidarians are actually colonial organisms, such as siphonophores (my favorite < 3) and corals. Cnidarians have radial symmetry and mouths surrounded by stinging tentacles.

Echinodermata - "hedgehog skin" - are animals with typically 5-pointed symmetry such as starfish, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, sand dollars. Before adulthood, echinoderms actually begin as free swimming larvae with bilateral symmetry. During metamorphosis, one half grows, eventually absorbing the other half and growing radially into typically 5 but sometimes more parts depending on the species.

Chordata - "chord" - includes animals that have a notochord, hollow nerve cord along the back, endostyle/thyroid, gill slits (yes we have them as embryos!), and a post-anal tail (yes we briefly have tails too!). Some familiar chordates are fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. About half of chordates are fish.

Annelida - "little ring" - are segmented worms with a flexible yet tough collagen skin. The segments of Annelids usually have sets of the same organs. Annelida includes marine worms, terrestrial worms, and leeches.

Mollusca - "soft" - is the second largest phylum, behind Arthropoda. Molluscs are described by their soft body made of muscle, a mantle with room to breathe and poop, and their nervous system shape. Mollusca is a very diverse group that includes snails, slugs, octopuses, squid, clams, and much more.

Arthropoda - "jointed legs" - is the largest phylum with over a million *known* species. Arthropods have a segmented body, pairs of jointed appendages, and a hard exoskeleton made of chitin which is moulted as they grow. Animals in the Arthropoda phylum range from bugs, crabs, spiders, barnacles, and many more.