A characteristic of crustaceans not seen in other arthropods is the presence of ‘biramous limbs’. Lacking in any respiratory or circulatory systems, oxygen pass through their bodies instead in a process known as diffusion. There are six animal classes and every animal in the animal kingdom belongs to one of them.

With the dinosaurs gone, mammals quickly became the dominant land animals. The most common type of fish to consume are those belonging to bony types of fish. Chordata – Vertebrates. Although both birds and mammals have backbones and are warm-blooded, there are important differences. The species in the phylum Platyhelminthes are also known as flatworms.

Mammals are characterized by their hair or fur, which all species possess during some stage of their life cycles; the milk with which they suckle their young, and their warm-blooded metabolisms, which, as with birds, allows them to inhabit a wide range of habitats, ranging from deserts to oceans to arctic tundra. This may depend on their looks, feeding habits, distinctive features, or behavior. The Carnivora order breaks into animal families that include Felidae (Cats), Canidae (Dogs), Ursidae (Bears), and Mustelidae (Weasels). Some of the smallest fish can be as tiny as a few millimeters long.

Living reptile groups include: Testudines (turtles and tortoises); Rhynchocephalia (the tuatara); Squamata (lizards and snakes); and Crocodilia (crocodiles, gavials, caimans, and alligators). There is no universally accepted breakdown for the class Mammalia. Usually, animals are grouped together in classes or families due to certain shared characteristics. These scales can be small and shiny such as those on a snake, or they can be hard and bumpy as you would see on a crocodile or caiman. Amphibians are characterized by their semi-aquatic lifestyles (they must stay near bodies of water to maintain the moisture of their skin and to lay eggs), and today they are among the most endangered animals in the world. This system of animal kingdom classification was developed by Swedish botanist Carolus (Carl) Linnaeus in the 1700’s.

We hope that you’ve enjoyed this overview of the animal kingdom and meeting many different types of animals. Today there are three main types of amphibians: the Anura (frogs and toads), Urodela (salamanders), and Apoda (caecilians). Even though they have gills, fish are not a type of amphibian either. Birds are a class of animals that contains the greatest number of flying vertebrates. The ray-finned fishes, with over 32,000 known species, account for the vast majority of living fish. These are: mammals have 3 middle ear bones, have fur or hair, and female mammals produce milk. Crustaceans are extremely varied; the group includes crabs, lobsters, shrimps, krill, woodlice and barnacles. Also, birds aren’t mammals because they don’t give birth to their young or nurse them with milk. Similar to reptiles, amphibians are cold-blooded vertebrates that need proper environmental conditions to regulate their temperature. Characteristics of mammals include: having hair, giving birth to live young (only five species of mammal, the monotremes, lay eggs), being warm-blooded, breathing air with lungs, and having mammary glands. Birds belong to the phylum Chordata and are in the class of Aves. This page is an overview of the main types of animals; there are many other animal groups, both living and extinct! We then look at smaller groups within these larger groups. Fish are aquatic animals in the phylum Chordata and are grouped together with other vertebrates. Join the thousands of Active Wild subscribers who receive free wildlife and science news & info direct to their inboxes! Visit our shop to see our animals by letter flash cards, coloring books, Montessori materials, and more! Each genus contains animals that have very similar features and are closely related.

The sixth class is invertebrates (animals lacking a backbone). They are equipped with cells called cnidocytes, which deploy venom via a minute spear-like structure. Even though all types of birds start life as an egg and most birds fly, other classes of animals also share those characteristics. The Catalogue of Life (link) currently lists 65,442 species of mollusk, although other estimates suggest that around 85 thousand species are recognized. For example, the Felidae (Cat) family contains genus including Felis (small Cats and domestic Cats), Panthera (Tigers, Leopards, Jaguars and Lions) and Puma (Panthers and Cougars). Some examples of marine mammals are dolphins, whales, and porpoises. Unlike arthropods that often have a hard outer body, many mollusks have a soft body. Unlike flatworms, who use the same opening both to take in food and to expel waste, roundworms have a more developed digestive system which has separate openings for each task. One of the largest roundworms is Placentonema gigantissima.

Today they are by far the most prolific flying vertebrates, numbering 10,000 species across 30 separate orders. Mosasaur Facts, Pictures & Information: Get The Lowdown On A Fearsome Prehistoric Marine Reptile, American Bison Facts, Pictures & Information: Discover The National Mammal of the United States, The Forest Biome Facts, Pictures & In-Depth Information, The Chaparral Biome Facts, Pictures & In-Depth Information, If you want information on hundreds of individual species, including ‘. These include the tinamous of the Americas and the flightless kiwis, cassowaries, emu, rheas and ostriches. It reaches an estimated length of around 14 m (46 ft.) and is found in the Southern Ocean. Over 1 million insect species have been described (i.e. It is thought that there are over 10,000 species of animals classed as reptiles in the taxonomic clade Sauropsida. Animals in the class Amphibia are a type of animals with gills (like a fish) and lungs (like reptiles). Amphibians evolved from four-footed animals known as tetrapods, which themselves had evolved from lobe-finned fishes. (2).

By far the largest group of reptiles (in terms of number of the number of species it contains) is Squamata.

Click on the photo below to discover this week’s animal! Two of the most interesting of all mammals are the duckbill platypus and spiny anteater. The first known insect is Rhyniognatha hirsti, which resembled a modern-day silverfish and walked the Earth 396 million years ago. The animal Kingdom contains some 35 extant phyla. Platyhelminthes – Typically parasitic flatworms.

Lobsters, crabs, and squid can be the main part of a delicious meal. This causes reptiles to have distinct behavior where they can sit and wait for hours. Based on the Linnaeus method, species are arranged grouped based on shared characteristics. Click here or on the image above to view / download a free printable question sheet for use with this page. It is these cells that are responsible for a jellyfish’s painful sting. For example, honeybees produce one of the purest foods – honey. If you have any questions then feel free to ask them in the comments section at the foot of the page. With a mass of over 20 kg (44 lb. Bivalves such as oysters and clams, gastropods such as snails and slugs, and cephalopods such as octopuses, squid and cuttlefish are all mollusks. You can find out more about animal classification on this page: Class Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish). In short, there are a lot of different types of insects! Bony fish, as the name suggests, have skeletons made of bone. Most crustaceans live in water, but some – including woodlice – are found on land. Examples include elephants, whales, and humans. Today insects are by far the largest single group of animals in terms of number of species. This also helps to see the relationship between different species and families of animals. Use the links below to find the information you need (or continue reading for a complete overview of the animal kingdom). All animals belonging to the class Mammalia are warm-blooded vertebrates. Visit our shop to see our animals by letter flash cards, coloring books, Montessori materials, and more! All these animals belong to the phylum chordata. Porifera – Marine animals more commonly known as sponges and found in every ocean on earth. All these animals belong to the phylum chordata. These are a group of cold-blooded animals that can be everywhere where you live. From the class of amphibians, types of frogs make up the majority of water-loving animals. All arthropods have segmented bodies, paired jointed appendages (i.e.

Birds are characterized by their coats of feathers, their warm-blooded metabolisms, their memorable songs (at least in certain species), and their ability to adapt to a wide range of habitats—witness the ostriches of the Australian plains and the penguins of the Antarctic coastline. Here are the six main animal groups, ranging from the simplest (the spineless invertebrates) to the most complex (mammals, which can adapt to a wide range of habitats). This group of animal species is so large that some estimate it contains around 97% of the animals in the world.