Basic Taxonomy of Marine Organisms

The diversity of marine organisms in Japanese water is very high with 33,629 species reported, but there are still an estimate 122,000 undescribed species. In this chapter, we introduce major taxa found in intertidal and shallow waters in Japan for this practical training guide for students and teachers, with basic information on their morphology and ecology. Unicellular organisms are a polyphyletic group in the Domains Bacteria and Eukaryota, and here we provide a brief introduction to Cyanobacteria, Dinoflagellata, Ciliata, Radiolaria, Foraminifera, and Diatomea. Similarly, we deal with Phaeophyceae (brown algae), Rhodophyta (red algae), and Ulvophyceae (green algae) and seagrasses (some members of Alismatales). Furthermore, we provide a brief introduction to marine animals including Porifera, Cnidaria, Ctenophora, Rotifera, Platyhelminthes, Nemertea, Mollusca, Annelida, Bryozoa, Brachiopoda, Arthropoda, Tardigrada, Nematoda, Chaetognatha, Echinodermata, Hemichordata, and Chordata. Illustrations of representatives of each group of organisms are also given.