invertebrate, any animal that lacks a vertebral column, or backbone, in contrast to the cartilaginous or bony vertebrates. More than 90 percent of all living animal species are invertebrates. Worldwide in distribution, they include animals as diverse as sea stars, sea urchins, earthworms, sponges, jellyfish, lobsters, crabs, insects, spiders, snails, clams, and squid. Invertebrates are especially important as agricultural pests, parasites, or agents for the transmission of parasitic infections to humans and other vertebrates.
Invertebrates serve as food for humans; are key elements in food chains that support birds, fish, and many other vertebrate species; and play important roles in plant pollination. Despite providing important environmental services, invertebrates are often ancillary in wildlife research and conservation, with priority given instead to studies that focus on large vertebrates. In addition, several invertebrate groups (including many types of insects and worms) are viewed solely as pests, and by the early 21st century the heavy use of pesticides worldwide had caused substantial population declines among bees, wasps, and other terrestrial insects.
Apart from the absence of a vertebral column, invertebrates have little in common. Indeed, they are distributed into more than 30 phyla. In contrast, all vertebrates are contained within a single phylum, the Chordata. (Phylum Chordata also includes the sea squirts and some other invertebrate groups.) Invertebrates are generally soft-bodied animals that lack a rigid internal skeleton for the attachment of muscles but often possess a hard outer skeleton (as in most mollusks, crustaceans, and insects) that serves, as well, for body protection.