The Phylum of Echinodermata – Biology Poster, 38×26″
by American Educational Products

The members of this phylum are typically referred to as echinoderms, and include a number of sea-dwelling creatures that are easily recognizable, such as sea stars, sea urchins and sand dollars. There are evn some that may surprised you as being part of this phylum such as crinoids, which resemble underwater plants, and sea cucumbers, which are not actually vegetables but animals.

All of the roughly 7,000 different species of echinoderms live in the ocean, or the sediment that rests on the bottom. They are strictly a salt-water member of kingdom Animalia, and are the largest phylum without any freshwater or terrestrial representatives. Their name comes from Echino, which means “spiny”, and derm, which means “skin”. So the literal translation of their name means Spiny Skin.

Complex in many ways, they feature a body with radial symmetry. What this means is that several cutting planes like a pie will produce roughly identical pieces, as there is no true left or right sides. They also feature a unique water vascular system, where its network of tubes make movement, feeding, and gas exchange possible for them.

This poster features detailed images and descriptions of 8 members of the Echinoderm phylum.