Classification Key of common invertebrates of Australian freshwater bodies.

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Nematomorpha

Phylum: Nematoda

Phylum: Annelida

Phylum: Arthropoda

Phylum: Mollusca

Phylum: Platyhelminthes

Phylum: Nemertea

“Primitive Worms”

Phylum: PoriferaFamily: Spongillidae

“Sponges”

Mat-like structure, spongy to touch, dull coloured. Very small or several metres long, depending on species, age and environment.

Phylum: CnidariaOrder: Hydrozoa

“Hydras” and “Jellyfish”

May be free-floating or sessile, sexual or asexual, solitary or colonial, exhibit a range of body forms.

Bilateral symmetry, absence of distinct respiratory, circulatory and skeletal systems.

Class: Turbellaria

“Flatworms”

“Proboscis Worms”

“Round Worms”

“Horsehair Worms”

Class: Temnocephalidea

Class: Polychaeta

Class: Bivalvia

Class: Oligochaeta

Class: Gastropoda

Class: Hirudinea

Class: Arachnida

Class: Crustacea

Class: Collembola

Class: Insecta

“Leeches”

“Water Mites”

“Crustaceans”

“Springtails”

“Insects”

“Segmented Worms”

“Freshwater Snails”Elongate, segmented, lacking appendages, body wall soft and covered by thing cuticle.

“Freshwater Mussels”

Shell consists of 2 separate valves hinged together. 3 families.

A coiled or limpet-like shell from which a large foot protrudes. Creeps along substrate on surface of foot. 12 families.

Wingless, possess abdomen with 6 segments. Up to 3mm in size.Habitats the surface film of still waters.

Possess 4 pairs of legs, 2 feeding appendages, no antennae.

Order: Acariformes

Order: Ephemeroptera

Order: Odonata

Family: Notonectidae

Suborder: Anisoptera

Suborder: Zygoptera

Family: Culicidae

Family: Corixidae

Order: Hemiptera

Order: Lepidoptera

Order: Diptera

Order: Coleoptera

Order: Trichoptera

Order: Anostraca

Order: Notostraca

Order: Cyclopoida

Subclass: Ostracoda

Subclass: Copepoda

No sign of external segmentation. Parasitic as larvae, free-living as nymphs and adults.

Information taken directly from:Hawking, John H. & Smith, Felicity J. Colour Guide to Invertebrates of Australian Inland WatersCo-operative Research Centre for Freshwater Ecology, NSW 1997.

2 pairs of antennae, mandibles and 2 pairs of maxillae on the head, a pair of appendages on each body segment.

“Fairy Shrimps”

“Shield/Tadpole Shrimps”

“Seed Shrimps”

* This classification key only includes a selection of the known class, order, and family levels for each phylum.

Single large foot, hard calcareous resistant shell into which the animal may retreat.

Possess an exoskeleton containing chitin, a segmented body and jointed appendages.

Usually possess defined head, thorax, abdomen, 1 or 2 pairs of wings, 3 pairs of jointed legs and a 1 pair of antennae. Larvae often have different habitat and structure to adults.

“Mayflies”

“Damsefliesl & Dragonflies”

“Aquatic Bugs”

“Moths”

“Two-winged Flies”

“Beetles”

“Caddislies”

Mouth-parts consist of hinged stylets, mandibles and maxillae, resting in an anterior, grooved rostrum-like labium, generally 2 pairs of wings. 15 families and 222 species have aquatic stages.

Larvae do not have true legs.

Labium extensible, often covering face.

“Backswimmers”

“Dragonflies”

“Damselfies”

“Mosquitoes”

“Water Boatmen”

Large eyes, elongate body, swim with back downwards. 6 genera.

Larvae stout, without terminal gills but with anal pyramid.6 Australian species, 198 species.

Larvae usually slender with 3 large terminal gills. 11 Australian families, 107 species.

Prolegs absent, thoracic segments fused, mouth brushes present.

Fore-tarsi usually scoop-like with row of long hairs, head slightly overlapping the pronotum. 5 genera, 31 species recorded.

“Cyclops”