Vermes
Vermes ("worms") is a long-obsolete
taxon used by
Linnaeus and
Lamarck for all non-
arthropod invertebrate animals. Linnaeus divided the group as follows:
- Intestina
- Mollusca
- Testacea
- Lithophyta
- Zoophyta
Of these only the
Mollusca are still used, and their composition has changed almost entirely. In Linnaeus' scheme they included only soft-bodied forms - the
cephalopods, which are still counted as molluscs, but also various
cnidarians,
echinoderms,
polychaetes, and other such creatures. Shelled molluscs were placed in the Testacea, together with
barnacles and tube worms.
