This document provides an overview of the animal kingdom (Kingdom Animalia), including its diversity, characteristics used to describe it (e.g. body symmetry, number of germ layers), and classification of animals into invertebrates and vertebrates. It then describes the key characteristics of different phyla within the animal kingdom, including porifera, cnidaria, ctenophora, platyhelminthes, nemertea, rotifera, nematoda, mollusca, annelida, arthropoda, echinodermata, and chordata. It concludes with descriptions of different classes within the phylum chordata such as agnatha, chondrichthyes, osteichth