Biology · Class 11 Science
Ch 4Animal Kingdom — Class 11 Biology, concept-first.
Animals show an extraordinary diversity of body forms, yet classifying this diversity in a scientifically useful way requires looking past superficial resemblance and habitat to a set of shared, fundamental features of body organisation.
Key concepts
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Levels Of Organisation
The grades of body organisation in animals — cellular, tissue, organ and organ-system levels — reflecting increasing structural complexity.
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Chapter contents
The NCERT structure, section by section. Open a section to see its questions, then read the concept-first solution.
Basis of Classification — Levels of Organisation and Symmetry
Animals show an extraordinary diversity of body forms, yet classifying this diversity in a scientifically useful way requires looking past superficial resemblance and habitat to a set of shared, funda…
Diploblastic and Triploblastic Organisation, Coelom, Segmentation and Notochord
Diploblastic and triploblastic organisation. During embryonic development, the cells of the embryo arrange themselves into distinct layers, called germ layers, from which all the adult tissues and org…
Phylum Porifera
The phylum Porifera (Latin porus, pore + ferre, to bear) comprises the sponges, the simplest and most primitive of the multicellular animals, standing at the cellular level of organisation — a sponge'…
Phylum Coelenterata (Cnidaria) and Phylum Ctenophora
Phylum Coelenterata (Cnidaria). Members of this phylum are found almost entirely in aquatic, chiefly marine, habitats, living either fixed to a substratum (sessile, e.g.
Phylum Platyhelminthes and Phylum Aschelminthes
Phylum Platyhelminthes. Commonly called flatworms because the body is characteristically dorsoventrally flattened, this phylum may be free-living (mostly aquatic, e.g.
Phylum Annelida
Phylum Annelida takes its name from the Latin annulus, a little ring, referring to the externally visible rings, or segments, into which the whole body — both the outer body wall and, correspondingly,…
Phylum Arthropoda
Phylum Arthropoda (Greek arthros, joint + podos, foot) is by a very wide margin the largest phylum in the entire Animal Kingdom, containing more described species than every other phylum of animals co…
Phylum Mollusca and Phylum Echinodermata
Phylum Mollusca (Latin molluscus, soft) is, after Arthropoda, the second largest phylum of the Animal Kingdom, and is remarkable for the diversity of body forms built on essentially the same soft-bodi…
Phylum Hemichordata and Phylum Chordata — General Features
Phylum Hemichordata is a small group of worm-like, exclusively marine animals — historically classified as a subphylum of Chordata because of certain superficial resemblances, but now recognised as a…
Chordate Classes I — Cyclostomata, Chondrichthyes and Osteichthyes
Class Cyclostomata (Greek kyklos, circle + stoma, mouth) comprises the most primitive living vertebrates, the only survivors of the jawless (Agnatha) vertebrate line.
Chordate Classes II — Amphibia, Reptilia, Aves and Mammalia
Class Amphibia (Greek amphi, both + bios, life) comprises animals capable of living both in water and on land, a dual existence reflected in the class name.
Summary — Revising the Animal Kingdom by Classification Criteria
This chapter has surveyed the Animal Kingdom through ten non-chordate phyla — Porifera, Coelenterata (Cnidaria), Ctenophora, Platyhelminthes, Aschelminthes, Annelida, Arthropoda, Mollusca, Echinoderma…
More questions
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- Q1Which level of body organisation is shown by the members of phylum Porifera (sponges)? (a) Tissue level (b) Organ level (c) Cellular level (…Free
- Q2The body cavity found in phylum Aschelminthes (roundworms) is best described as a (a) True coelom (b) Pseudocoelom (c) Coelom-less (acoeloma…Free
- Q3Which of the following phyla shows metameric segmentation for the first time in the classification sequence followed in this chapter? (a) Pl…Free
- Q4The stinging cells characteristic of phylum Coelenterata (Cnidaria) are called (a) Choanocytes (b) Cnidoblasts (c) Flame cells (d) NephridiaPreview
- Q5Which class of chordates is exclusively jawless? (a) Chondrichthyes (b) Osteichthyes (c) Cyclostomata (d) AmphibiaPreview
- Q6Which of the following is an example of Class Chondrichthyes? (a) Labeo (b) Scoliodon (c) Hippocampus (d) ExocoetusPreview
- Q7The presence of a notochord at some stage of the life cycle is the defining feature of phylum (a) Hemichordata (b) Echinodermata (c) Chordat…Preview
- Q8Which of the following pairs is correctly matched? (a) Mammalia — always egg-laying (b) Aves — mammary glands (c) Reptilia — shelled amnioti…Preview
- Q9Locomotion in Echinodermata is chiefly brought about by (a) Parapodia (b) Tube feet of the water vascular system (c) Setae (d) Comb platesPreview
- Q10The radula, a file-like feeding organ, is a characteristic feature of phylum (a) Annelida (b) Mollusca (c) Arthropoda (d) AschelminthesPreview
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- Q11Name the system responsible for feeding, respiration and waste removal that is characteristic of phylum Porifera.Free
- Q12Give one example each of a free-living and a parasitic member of phylum Platyhelminthes.Free
- Q13What is metagenesis? Name one coelenterate that shows it.Free
- Q14Name the excretory organs found in phylum Annelida.Preview
- Q15Among the reptiles, which one is the exception in having a completely four-chambered heart like the birds and mammals?Preview
- Q16Name the phylum, among those studied in this chapter, whose body cavity is present but is not completely lined by mesoderm.Preview
- Q17What is meant by 'ovoviviparous'? Name one chondrichthyan that shows this mode of reproduction.Preview
- Q18Name the phylum whose members, though once classified with the chordates, are today placed among the non-chordates.Preview
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- Q19Distinguish between diploblastic and triploblastic animals, giving one example of each.Free
- Q20Differentiate between an open and a closed circulatory system, naming one phylum studied in this chapter that shows each.Free
- Q21What is the water vascular system? State two functions it performs in Echinodermata.Free
- Q22Distinguish between Chondrichthyes and Osteichthyes on the basis of (a) nature of endoskeleton, (b) presence of operculum, and (c) presence…Preview
- Q23How does the reptilian mode of reproduction differ from that of amphibians, and why is this significant for a fully terrestrial life?Preview
- Q24What is meant by 'sexual dimorphism'? Name one phylum studied in this chapter in which it is commonly observed.Preview
- Q25Distinguish between Prototheria, Metatheria and Eutheria, giving one example of each.Preview
- Q26Why are sponges said to show the cellular level of organisation while coelenterates show the tissue level? Explain briefly.Preview
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- Q27Describe, using the six basis-of-classification criteria discussed in this chapter, how phylum Annelida differs from phylum Platyhelminthes.Free
- Q28Give an account of the salient features of phylum Arthropoda, and explain why it is considered the most successful and diverse phylum in the…Free
- Q29Describe the general characteristic features of phylum Chordata that distinguish it from every non-chordate phylum discussed in this chapter…Preview
- Q30Compare the classes Amphibia and Reptilia under the following heads: habitat, nature of skin, type of heart, mode of fertilisation and natur…Preview
- Q31Trace, phylum by phylum, the progressive appearance of (a) triploblastic organisation, (b) a true coelom and (c) metameric segmentation acro…Preview