Assignment Task: In your assigned reading this week you have learned about classification and diversity within the animal kingdom.
There are nine major phyla described - Mollusca, Porifera, Cnidaria, Platyhelminthes, Nematoda, Annelida, Arthropoda, Echinodermata, and Chordata, which of these do you consider to be the most successful? Explain your rationale for measuring success (e.g. total numbers, numbers of different species within the phylum, adaptability, specificity etc) and choose a representative animal within that phylum and discuss which aspects of its physiology and lifestyle have contributed to its success.