Porifera
Porifera - Sponges, pore bearing. Sessile animals that use water flow to act as circulatory system. Consumes small crustaceans, bacteria, and other small animals.
There may be no sponges in Yosemite because there is no deep water for sponge to reside there and utilize the water flow for their necessary body functions. |
Cnidaria
Platyhelminthes
Platyhelminthes - Mobile worm like animals that have soft, unsegmented bodies.
Turbellaria - Includes all flatworms that are not exclusively parasitic. Mobile animal, soft body. Thrives and reproduces in water. Flatworms, Polycelis Felina - Flatworms are found in nearly every area with water, also inhabiting Yosemite. |
Annelida
Annelida - Mobile segmented worms that thrive in moist environments. They consume decaying organisms for sustenance
Clitellara - Mobile segmented annelids that have the classic “collar” used for reproductive means. Snow worms are found in Yosemite. They crawl in the dirt and consume organic decay. They are the decomposers of Yosemite. |
Mollusca
Mollusca - Invertebrates that live in all sorts of water. Mobile, highly diverse.
Gastropoda - Slugs and snails, varying sizes. Second to insects in amount of species. Banana Slug, Ariolimax Californicus - These slugs are also decomposers of Yosemite, they feed on decaying organic material. Colors range from bright yellow to spotted brown, much like a banana. |
Crustacea
Arthropoda - Multicellular, mobile. Animals characterized by their jointed external skeletons containing their segmented bodies. Can not grow and must therefore shed its exoskeleton to create a new one. Uses highly adapted sense organs.
Malacostraca - Diverse amount of body structures. 20 Body parts separated into head, thorax, and abdomen. Hard exoskeleton. Krill, Thysanoessa Spinifera - Krill is very important to any ecosystem because it feeds the chain of sea life. This animal is located in very many bodies of water, Yosemite would be no exception. |
Achrachnida
Arthropoda - Multicellular, mobile. Animals characterized by their jointed external skeletons containing their segmented bodies. Can not grow and must therefore shed its exoskeleton to create a new one. Uses highly adapted sense organs.
Arachnid - Arachnids are characterized by their use of eight legs to become mobile. Extends limbs using hydraulics system using the pressure from their hemolymphs solifuges. Black Widows, Latrodectus - The Widow spiders are very dangerous and iconic with the red hourglass on their abdomen. This adds to Yosemite’s feel of being in nature. |
Insecta
Arthropoda - Multicellular, mobile. Animals characterized by their jointed external skeletons containing their segmented bodies. Can not grow and must therefore shed its exoskeleton to create a new one. Uses highly adapted sense organs.
Insecta - Multicellular, mobile. Heterotrophic Three body segments, head, thorax, and abdomen. Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle, Desmocerus Californicus Dimorphus - The Valley Elderberry Longhorn Beetle is an endangered insect that resides in the valleys of Yosemite. Characterized by its contrasting red and black hue, it adds to the color of the valley. |