An invertebrate is an animal that does not have a spinal column or backbone.
This contrasts with vertebrate: if an animal is not a vertebrate (fish, reptile, amphibian, bird, or mammal), it is an invertebrate.
The main phyla (groups) of invertebrate animals are:
Insects and other arthropods have no bones, but they have a skeleton on the outside of their bodies, called an exoskeleton.
There are 18 more groups of invertebrates, mostly minor: see List of animal phyla.
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