List of animal phyla in zoos and aquariums

Moa

Moa

New Member
The animal kingdom consists of 30+ different phyla of animals. But probably 99,9% of all species kept in zoos and aquariums are made up by only two of those phyla (Craniota and Arthropoda). Thus, I would find it really intriguing to know how many of the other phyla are currently represented in zoos.
Right now I can only come up with the following:
- Porifera
- Cnidaria
- Echinodermata
- Mollusca
- Craniota
- Arthropoda
For Annelida and Tunicata I know no exact locations but think it is pretty likely that their are kept in aquariums. I also heard that Amsterdam kept Tardigrada but I am not sure if this is still the case.

If anyone knows other phyla which are kept in zoos I would really like to hear them.
 
Annelids aren't uncommon in aquaria, typically in the form of tube worms (which may be intentionally added to tanks, or simple hitchhikers on rocks or other sessile organisms), and leeches are kept on rare occasion. Monterey Bay Aquarium keeps Urechis caupo.

Tunicates (not a phylum, but a subphylum of the Chordata, as is Vertebrata [=Craniata]) are kept on occasion, but I believe they are considered difficult to maintain as their planktonic diet is hard to provide in sufficient quantity without fouling the water. Cephalochordata (lancelets), another subphylum of Chordata, has been kept on very rare occasion. I believe Aquamarine Fukushima has kept them at some point?

I know of one nemertean (ribbon worm) kept in captivity, the Antarctic species Parborlasia corrugata, currently displayed by Tokyo Sea Life Park and formerly by Port of Nagoya Public Aquarium.

Platyhelminthes (flatworms) are common hitchhikers and/or pests in aquariums, but I'm not aware of them being intentionally kept as a display animal anywhere.

Brachiopods are rarely kept - I saw the species Laqueus blanfordi signed on a tank at Tokyo Sea Life Park but couldn't find any in the tank.

Ctenophores (comb jellies) are common in captivity, often included in jellyfish exhibits despite being a totally seperate phylum to the scyphozoan 'true' jellyfishes.

I believe I've heard of Onychophorans (velvet worms) being kept privately, but I'm not aware of any public facilities that display them.
 
To follow up on what @DaLilFishie has said, I know the European Medicinal Leech Hirundo medicinalis is kept both at the Woodland Park Zoo in the USA and also at the London Zoo as well as potentially other places in the UK. The Australian species Richardsonianus australis is reasonably common in private collections here in Australia but it isn’t in zoos to my knowledge.


Velvet Worms are not in any public collections to my knowledge but I have a short thread about their presence in private collections here Velvet Worms in Captivity
 
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