Virtual Museum

Sponges have existed on Earth for over 500 million years and are probably the sister group of all other animals. Porifera means “pore-bearer” and refers to the many pores through which sponges pull in water and food. Today there are approximately 9000 living species which mostly live in the sea.   Cnidarians are radially symmetrical, [...]

This case represents a strange grouping of animals collectively known as the tongue-twisting Lophotrochozoa. These animals can broadly be split into Lophophorata, which refers to a feeding structure called a lophophore, and Trochozoa, which is a type of larval form.

The Ecdysozoa is a highly successful protostome animal group that contains 8 animal phyla which between them have over 1 million described species and an estimated minimum of 4.5 million species. The name refers to their method of growth whereby they must shed their skin (cuticle) as they grow, a process known as ecdysis.

Echinodermata   The phylum Echinodermata takes its name from the Greek ekhinos for hedgehog and derma meaning skin, referring to the spiny skin of many species.  The earliest known echinoderm fossils date back to the early Cambrian, 580 million years ago.  Echinoderms, one of the BIG 9 phyla,  are the only animals with radial, often [...]

Bony fish   Bony fishes have internal skeletons that are mostly made from bone.  They first appeared 419 million years ago and are the largest taxonomic group of vertebrates in the world. Bony fish are divided into the lobe-finned fishes (Class Sarcopterygii) and the ray-finned fishes (Class Actinopterygii).   Ray-finned fishes have dorsal (back) fins with numerous skin-covered [...]

Birds are the most diverse and speciose group of terrestrial vertebrates. Scientists had noted the anatomical similarities of birds and dinosaurs long before their close evolutionary history was understood. The discovery of fossil feathered species such as Archaeopteryx gave support to the theory that birds are directly descended from dinosaurs. This is no longer merely [...]

Reptiles are found worldwide, inhabiting deserts, temperate and tropical forests, freshwater habitats, coral reefs, mangroves and the open sea. Reptiles are ectothermic (cold-blooded) and regulate their body temperature by moving into warmer or cooler environments to achieve optimal body temperature for different processes such as digestion or the development of embryos.

Monotremes Five species of monotremes, or prototherians, are alive today and all live in Australia or New Guinea. These bizarre mammals, the duck-billed platypus and four species of echidnas, differ from other mammals in that they lack a placenta, lay eggs, and have legs that poke out to the side like reptiles. Monotremes nurse their [...]

Carnivores (Order Carnivora) are flesh-eating mammals highly adapted for catching prey or scavenging, although some are omnivorous (varied diet). As a group they date back to the middle Cretaceous, emerging approximately 95 million years ago. Carnivores are defined by their teeth; their canines form long pointed fangs to deliver a fatal bite and the carnassial [...]

Laurasiatheria is one of the richest and most diverse of the mammalian superorders, originating on the northern supercontinent of Laurasia almost 100 million years ago. Members of this group vary from a tiny pygmy shrew weighing just 2 grams to the 150 tonne blue whale; the largest animal on the planet. Current classifications recognise six [...]

Atlantogenata is a grouping of the Afrotheria (literally, "African mammal") and Xenarthans (meaning “strange joints”). Despite their apparent physical dissimilarities, molecular analysis strongly suggests that they are descended from a single common ancestor that existed somewhere in what is now Africa when it was isolated from South America by continental drift over 100 million years [...]

Euarchontoglires is a superorder of placental mammals grouped together by molecular data that shows that they share a common ancestor. They are split into the clades Glires and Euarchonta.  Glires are the rabbits and hares, and the rodents, including mice and rats. The Euarchonta contain tree shrews, flying lemurs, and primates, including you! Tree shrews [...]

Apes are primates that belong to the superfamily Hominoidea which is split into gibbons and great apes. We are estimated to share over 98% of our DNA with chimpanzees with whom we shared a common ancestor as recently as eight million years ago. All apes lack a tail – an adaptation thought to be associated [...]

The Ediacaran    The history of life on Earth has been dominated by global climate changes and violent mass extinction events. Whilst catastrophic for the living, these events have shaped animal diversity, removing dominant groups and allowing new forms to emerge. The Earth was formed 4.5 billion years ago and there is evidence that simple [...]