Various kinds of animals embrace invertebrates comparable to sponges, flatworms, roundworms, cnidarians (jellyfish, anemones, and so on.), mollusks (squid, octopuses, snails, clams, and so on.), crustaceans, arachnids and bugs; and vertebrates comparable to fish, amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds.
On this web page is a listing of the foremost animal sorts, with footage and details on every.
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Web page Index
Sorts Of Animals
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Totally different Sorts Of Animals: Introduction
On this web page is a listing of the primary sorts of animals. Somewhat than taking a look at particular person species comparable to the tiger or blue whale, this can be a checklist of the foremost teams of animals; teams comparable to mammals, bugs, and reptiles.
If you would like info on particular person animal species, then take a look at this web page: A To Z Animals With Footage & Information, the place you’ll discover footage and details on a whole bunch of fantastic animals.
First we check out the 2 foremost kinds of animal: invertebrates and vertebrates. We then have a look at smaller teams inside these bigger teams.
For every kind of animal, you’ll discover hyperlinks to extra details about even smaller teams and notable species inside every group.
This web page is an outline of the primary kinds of animals; there are lots of different animal teams, each dwelling and extinct!
We hope you take pleasure in this exploration of the animal kingdom. In case you have any questions then be at liberty to ask within the feedback part on the foot of the web page!
Animalia: The Animal Kingdom
An organism is a dwelling factor. If we consider each single organism on Earth being a part of one massive group, then that group will be cut up into smaller teams of organisms which might be extra like one another than they’re to different organisms.
Animalia – the animal kingdom – is one in all a number of massive teams of dwelling issues.
Animals have a specific set of traits that separates them from different organisms comparable to crops, fungi and micro organism.
Animals belong to the animal kingdom, Animalia. Different kingdoms embrace Plantae – the plant kingdom, and Fungi, the fungus kingdom.
Traits of Animals
Traits of animals embrace: being multicellular (i.e. they encompass a couple of cell); being capable of transfer (for at the least a part of their lives); respiratory oxygen; and being unable to supply their very own meals (i.e. they’ll’t get power from daylight). Most animals reproduce sexually.
Totally different Sorts Of Animals
The animal kingdom is split into many smaller teams. On this web page we are going to check out among the various kinds of animals and their traits. We’ll focus on the primary animal teams, however can even check out a variety of notable smaller animal sorts.
The Two ‘Primary’ Varieties of Animals: Invertebrates and Vertebrates
There are two foremost kinds of animal: invertebrates and vertebrates. Invertebrates are animals that don’t have a spine; vertebrates are animals that do.
Of the 1.4 million or so recognized animal species, round 95% (or extra) are invertebrates. Of those, virtually 1 million are bugs.
Solely round 5% of recognized animals are chordates (chordates are animals that both have a spine, or an analogous construction generally known as a notochord).
Not like vertebrates, invertebrates don’t really type a single group of associated animals. Actually, some invertebrates are extra carefully associated to vertebrates than they’re to different invertebrates.
Though “invertebrates” isn’t an “official” animal group, it does type a helpful distinction between two very various kinds of animals. Due to this, we’ve separated the animal teams on this web page into invertebrates and vertebrates.
Animal Classification Fundamentals
A ‘kingdom’ such because the animal kingdom or the plant kingdom consists of teams of organisms that share sure traits.
A kingdom can itself be divided into smaller teams of organisms which might be extra closely-related to one another than they’re to different organisms.
Every of those smaller teams can then be additional divided into even smaller teams of organisms which might be much more closely-related. This continues till we get proper right down to particular person species.
Actually, even a person species can get divided into smaller teams, known as subspecies. The home canine, for instance, is a subspecies of gray wolf.
The science of putting species into teams is named taxonomy. Every taxonomic stage, or ‘rank’ has its personal identify.
From kingdom to species, the fundamental taxonomic ranks are:
- Kingdom
- Phylum
- Class
- Order
- Household
- Species
Varieties of Animals: Invertebrates
Invertebrates are animals with no spine. The very first animals have been invertebrates, and within the a whole bunch of tens of millions of years since their look, invertebrates have diversified into a large number of various sorts.
Under is a number of the foremost invertebrate teams.
Sponges
Wanting like bulbous, hole crops, sponges are among the many most elementary of all animals. They lack a nervous system and a abdomen, and most species are able to motion solely of their juvenile type.
There are between 6,000 and 9,000 recognized species of sponge (as with many areas of taxonomy, there’s an excessive amount of discrepancy between knowledge on the precise variety of sponges). Practically all sponges are present in marine habitats, though there are a small variety of freshwater sponges.
Sponges are filter feeders. Inside a sponge’s physique are cells with whip-like projections known as flagella. The motion of the flagella causes water to maneuver by means of the sponge. The sponge feeds on microorganisms contained inside the water.
One of many first scientists to appreciate that sponges have been animals fairly than crops was Aristotle.
Flatworms
The species within the phylum Platyhelminthes are often known as flatworms. These invertebrate animals vary in measurement from microscopic species to tapeworms that may be as much as 25m (82 ft.) in size.
Flatworms lack a physique cavity, and have neither a circulatory nor a respiratory system. They’re the only animals to exhibit ‘bilateral symmetry’ (i.e. to have our bodies which might be symmetrical). Flatworms have existed for a whole bunch of tens of millions of years and have been the primary carnivorous hunters.
Many dwelling flatworms are parasitic. They make their approach into a number organism and feed on its physique from the within. This may be dangerous and even lethal to the host animal.
Usually the eggs of parasitic flatworms are eaten by a small animal, in whose physique the flatworm undergoes the primary stage of its improvement. When the smaller host animal is eaten by a bigger animal, the flatworm units up a everlasting house in its new host. It feeds off the host animal and in addition lays its eggs within the host’s physique. These are handed by the host animal and the cycle begins once more.
Some flatworms make their approach by means of a couple of host earlier than embedding themselves of their ultimate host.
Main kinds of flatworm:
- Class Turbellaria – free-moving, non-parasitic flatworms
- Class Cestoda – tapeworms and associated species, all parasitic
- Clade Trematoda – flukes, all parasitic
- Class Monogenea – parasites that reside infest the skin of a number species’ physique
Roundworms / Nematodes
Roundworms, or nematodes, have lengthy, cylindrical our bodies. Whereas most are microscopic, some can attain lengths of 13m (42.6ft.). Round 3,500 roundworm species are presently acknowledged, however some biologists imagine that the precise variety of species is nearer to 40,000 or extra.
One of many largest roundworms is Placentonema gigantissima. It’s a parasite that lives within the placenta of a sperm whale.
Not like flatworms, who use the identical opening each to absorb meals and to expel waste, roundworms have a extra developed digestive system with separate openings for every activity.
There are only a few ecosystems on Earth through which roundworms are usually not current. These adaptable animals are present in polar, mountainous, tundra and desert areas and nicely as underground and on the ocean mattress.
There are extra particular person roundworms than some other kind of animal. It’s estimated that there are 5 billion roundworms in each acre of fertile backyard soil; 60 billion roundworms for every dwelling individual; and that roundworms account for 80% of all dwelling animals.
Cnidarians
The phylum Cnidaria consists of animals comparable to corals, sea anemones and jellyfish. They’ve gentle our bodies with radial symmetry (i.e. they’re symmetrical round a central level, with no ‘again’ or ‘entrance’ facet).
Cnidarians comparable to corals and sea anemones completely connect themselves to underwater surfaces after a brief free-swimming larval stage. Others, comparable to jellyfish and the Portuguese man o’ struggle, are free-swimming even in maturity.
All cnidarians are carnivores. They’re outfitted with cells known as cnidocytes, which deploy venom through a minute spear-like construction. Cnidocytes are tailored for capturing prey, and for protection in opposition to predators. It’s these cells which might be chargeable for a jellyfish’s painful sting.
Main Varieties of Cnidarian
- Class Anthozoa (sea anemones and corals)
- Class Scyphozoa (jellyfish)
- Class Cubozoa (field jellyfish)
- Class Hydrozoa (a gaggle of associated animals that features colonial species such because the Portuguese man o’ struggle)
Mollusks
The phylum Mollusca, whose members are generally known as mollusks (spelt molluscs in British English), accommodates each the most important and probably the most clever invertebrates. This group accommodates animals as numerous as oysters and octopuses.
The Catalogue of Life (hyperlink) presently lists 65,442 species of mollusk, though different estimates recommend that round 85 thousand species are acknowledged.
Bivalves comparable to oysters and clams, gastropods comparable to snails and slugs, and cephalopods comparable to octopuses, squid and cuttlefish are all mollusks.
All mollusks have a mantle, which is a thick muscular wall that accommodates respiratory and different organs. In cephalopods, the mantle additionally capabilities as a jet, which pushes the animal by means of the water.
The colossal squid is the most important dwelling mollusk. It reaches an estimated size of round 14 m (46 ft.) and is discovered within the Southern Ocean.
Octopuses are probably the most clever invertebrates. They’ve been noticed utilizing instruments, fixing issues and even taking part in – a habits related to intelligence.
Notable Sorts Of Mollusk
- Class Bivalvia – bivalves (oysters, clams, cockles, mussels and associated species)
- Class Gastropoda – gastropods (slugs and snails)
- Class Cephalopoda – cephalopods (squid, cuttlefish, octopuses)
Arthropods
Arthropods are an enormous and numerous group of animals. There are over one million recognized species within the phylum Arthropoda, which accommodates all bugs, crustaceans, arachnids, horseshoe crabs and myriapods (centipedes & millipedes) in addition to a number of different invertebrate teams.
The identify ‘arthropod’ means ‘jointed foot’. All arthropods have segmented our bodies, paired jointed appendages (i.e. legs, antennae, and so on.) and onerous exoskeletons.
Under we glance in additional element at some notable arthropod teams.
Bugs
Bugs are thought to have appeared throughout the Silurian Interval, between 443.8–419.2 million years in the past. (That’s over 200 million years earlier than dinosaurs!)
The primary recognized insect is Rhyniognatha hirsti, which resembled a modern-day silverfish and walked the Earth 396 million years in the past.
In the present day bugs are by far the most important single group of animals when it comes to variety of species. Over 1 million insect species have been described (i.e. named and scientifically accepted as being a person species).
There are greater than 3 instances recognized insect species than there are recognized plant species. Bugs make up greater than half of all recognized organisms.
Briefly, there are numerous various kinds of bugs!
Traits of all bugs embrace: a tough exoskeleton, a physique comprising three components: head, thorax and stomach, three pairs of jointed legs, a single pair of antennae and a pair of compound eyes.
The most important group (when it comes to variety of species) inside Insecta is Coleoptera – the beetles. There are over 320,000 acknowledged species of beetle.
The world’s largest insect is the larval stage of the Goliath beetle Goliathus goliatus. The large weta Deinacrida heteracantha – an enormous, flightless cricket present in New Zealand – vies with the elephant beetles and Goliath beetles for the title of heaviest grownup insect.
The world’s smallest insect is the parasitic wasp Dicopomorpha echmepterygis, which is present in the US.
Notable Sorts Of Insect
- Order Coleoptera – beetles
- Order Diptera – flies
- Order Hymenoptera – wasps, bees and ants
- Order Mantodea – mantises
- Order Lepidoptera – butterflies and moths
- Order Blattodea – cockroaches and termites
- Order Odonata – dragonflies
Crustaceans
With round 67,000 species, Crustacea is among the largest arthropod teams. Crustaceans are extraordinarily various; the group consists of crabs, lobsters, shrimps, krill, woodlice and barnacles. Most crustaceans reside in water, however some – together with woodlice – are discovered on land.
Typical crustacean traits embrace a segmented physique with a tough exoskeleton, two pairs of antennae and a pair of compound eyes, which are sometimes mounted on stalks.
A attribute of crustaceans not seen in different arthropods is the presence of ‘biramous limbs’. These are limbs that department into two. A crustacean’s second pair of antennae may additionally be biramous.
The world’s smallest crustacean is the tiny marine parasite Tantulacus dieteri, which has a physique size of 85 micrometers (0.0033 in). This miniature crustacean, which infests different small marine crustaceans, would be the world’s smallest arthropod. (Some mites of sophistication Arachnida are equally as tiny.)
The most important crustacean is the Japanese spider crab, which has a most claw to claw size of 5.5 meters (18 ft.).
The heaviest crustacean is the American lobster, Homarus americanus. With a mass of over 20 kg (44 lb.), it’s also the world’s heaviest arthropod.
Notable Sorts Of Crustacean
- Order Euphausiacea – krill
- Infraorder Brachyura – crabs
- Suborder Oniscidea – woodlice
- Infraorder Astacidea – lobsters, crayfish and associated animals
- Infraclass Cirripedia – barnacles
Arachnids
The most effective-known arachnids are spiders, however this arthropod group additionally consists of scorpions, camel spiders, mites, ticks and different kinds of animals.
Arachnids have 4 pairs of legs, and an extra two pairs of appendages positioned close to the mouth.
These further appendages have a variety of totally different makes use of relying on the species. The pair closest to the mouth are generally known as chelicerae. These are the arachnid’s ‘jaws’. A spider’s chelicerae are hole and are used to inject venom.
The second pair of appendages are generally known as ‘pedipalps’. A spider’s pedipalps are antennae-like sense organs, and in addition play an element in copy. A scorpion’s pedipalps have tailored into pincers for manipulating prey.
Spiders are the most important arachnid group, with round 48,000 acknowledged species.
Notable Sorts Of Arachnid
- Subclass Acari – mites and ticks
- Order Opiliones – harvestmen / daddy longlegs
- Order Solifugae – camel spiders / wind scorpions / solifuges
- Order Araneae – spiders
- Order Scorpiones – scorpions
Varieties of Animals: Vertebrates
A vertebrate is an animal with a spine.
Human beings are vertebrates; when you rub your again you’ll in all probability be capable of really feel your spine. Having a spine is one thing we share not solely with our closest kin within the animal kingdom (the apes) however with each chook, reptile, mammal, amphibian and fish.
Not like the invertebrates, vertebrates are a part of a acknowledged organic group: the subphylum Vertebrata. (A subphylum is a subgroup of a phylum; Vertebrata is a part of the phylum Chordata.)
Because of this each animal with a spine shares the identical ancestor. Fish have been the primary animals to develop backbones, so within the household tree of each vertebrate (together with people) is a fish!
Fish
- Superclass: Osteichthyes (bony fish)
- Class: Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish)
The primary fish appeared within the Cambrian Interval, round 500 million years in the past. They have been the primary vertebrates, and the ancestors of all different vertebrates. Someplace approach again in your personal household tree is a fish!
Word: in biology, the phrase ‘fish’ applies to a single fish, or a gaggle of the identical species of fish. The phrase ‘fishes’ is used for a gaggle of fish that accommodates a number of species.
In the present day there are two foremost fish teams: the bony fishes (Osteichthyes) and the cartilaginous fishes (Chondrichthyes).
There are additionally two different, smaller, fish teams: the hagfish (class Myxini) and the lampreys (order Petromyzontiformes). These final two teams type a subgroup of Vertebrata generally known as the ‘jawless fishes’.
Bony fish, because the identify suggests, have skeletons made from bone. There are two foremost kinds of bony fish: the Actinopterygii, or ray-finned fishes, and the Sarcopterygii, or lobe-finned fishes.
The ray-finned fishes, with over 32,000 recognized species, account for the overwhelming majority of dwelling fish. Their fins are skinny and supported by spiny bones. Most ray-finned fish have swim-bladders. These gas-filled sacs regulate buoyancy.
The fins of lobe-finned fish are fleshy, and prolong from the physique on quick stalks. Lobe-finned fish are the ancestors of all non-fish vertebrates, together with mammals.
Only a few dwelling species of lobe-finned fish stay. Those who do embrace the coelacanths and the lungfish.
Cartilaginous fish embrace the sharks, rays, skates and sawfish. Their skeletons are made not of bone, however of a pure substance known as cartilage. The whale shark will not be solely the world’s largest shark, but in addition the world’s largest fish.
Notable Fish Teams
- Class Actinopterygii – ray-finned fishes
- Class Sarcopterygii – lobe-finned fishes
- Subclass Elasmobranchii – (sharks, rays, skates, sawfish)
Amphibians
Amphibians advanced from four-footed animals generally known as tetrapods, which themselves had advanced from lobe-finned fishes. (One other department of tetrapods, Amniota, are the ancestors of all dwelling reptiles, birds and mammals.)
The early amphibians have been the dominant animals on land. Giant crocodile-like amphibians preyed on fish and different aquatic animals.
This modified when the amniotes advanced the power to put eggs on land. As soon as free of their reliance on water for copy, early reptiles and the ancestors of mammals turned the dominant land animals.
In the present day there are three foremost kinds of amphibians: the Anura (frogs and toads), Urodela (salamanders), and Apoda (caecilians).
Traits of amphibians embrace: eggs laid in water, an aquatic larval stage, moist pores and skin able to gasoline trade, a terrestrial (land-dwelling) grownup stage. (Some amphibians have advanced technique of avoiding the larval stage and provides delivery to reside younger. Others retain their gills and stay aquatic even in maturity.)
Main Sorts Of Amphibian
- Order Anura (frogs and toads)
- Order Urodela (salamanders)
- Order Apoda (caecilians)
Reptiles
Reptiles are cold-blooded animals that descended from a gaggle of animals known as tetrapods, which themselves had advanced from lobe-finned fish. Most reptiles lay eggs, however some give delivery to reside younger.
Throughout the Mesozoic Period reptiles turned the dominant land animals, however their reign was ended by the meteor strike which induced the Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction Occasion.
Dwelling reptile teams embrace: Testudines (turtles and tortoises); Rhynchocephalia (the tuatara); Squamata (lizards and snakes); and Crocodilia (crocodiles, gavials, caimans, and alligators).
The world’s largest reptile is the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus). Reaching lengths of as much as 6 m (20 ft.), this fearsome species is present in Australia and Southeast Asia.
There are simply over 10,000 recognized reptile species. By far the most important group of reptiles (when it comes to variety of the variety of species it accommodates) is Squamata.
Some scientists think about birds to be reptiles as they’re the direct descendants of the dinosaurs. The inclusion of birds into Reptilia would roughly double the variety of recognized reptiles.
Main Sorts Of Reptile
- Order Testudines (turtles and tortoises)
- Order Rhynchocephalia (the tuatara)
- Order Squamata (lizards and snakes)
- Order Crocodilia (crocodiles, gavials, caimans, and alligators)
Birds
Not all dinosaurs turned extinct within the Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction Occasion. Birds are instantly descended from dinosaurs, and for that reason many scientists think about birds to be dinosaurs.
In the present day, there are round 10,000 recognized chook species. They vary in measurement from the tiny bee hummingbird to the widespread ostrich.
The overwhelming majority of dwelling birds belong to the infraclass Neognathae. Solely 60 species belong to the opposite foremost chook group, Palaeognathae. These embrace the tinamous of the Americas and the flightless kiwis, cassowaries, emu, rheas and ostriches.
Traits of recent birds embrace having feathers, toothless payments, forelimbs modified into wings, and laying eggs.
The primary true birds appeared throughout the Cretaceous Interval. Throughout this time they might have shared the sky with the primary flying vertebrates – the Pterosaurs.
Notable Sorts Of Chook
- Order Accipitriformes – birds of prey: hawks, eagles kites
- Order Anseriformes – waterfowl: geese, geese, swans & associated species
- Order Charadriiformes – gulls, auks & waders
- Order Galliformes – gamefowl: turkeys, chickens, partridges, pheasants & associated species
- Order Passeriformes – perching birds / songbirds
- Order Piciformes – woodpeckers
- Order Psittaciformes – parrots
- Order Strigiformes – owls
Mammals
The primary true mammals first appeared throughout the Late Triassic, round 200 to 227 million years in the past. Whereas sharing Earth with the dinosaurs, the early mammals have been by necessity small and nocturnal.
The Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction Occasion spelt the top of the dinosaurs’ reign. With the dinosaurs gone, mammals shortly turned the dominant land animals. They advanced to fill many alternative niches, even returning to the ocean within the form of whales and dolphins.
Traits of mammals embrace: having hair, giving delivery to reside younger (solely 5 species of mammal, the monotremes, lay eggs), being warm-blooded, respiratory air with lungs, and having mammary glands.
There are three foremost kinds of mammal: monotremes (Monotremata), marsupials (Marsupialia), and placental mammals (Placentalia).
The monotremes, which consist of 4 species of echidna and the platypus, are the one dwelling egg-laying mammals.
Marsupials are often known as ‘pouched mammals’. Their younger are born in a comparatively undeveloped state. They bear additional improvement in a particular pouch within the mom’s physique, the place they’ve entry to exploit.
Placental mammals give delivery to younger at a later stage of improvement than marsupials. Whereas within the womb a growing placental mammal is provided with vitamins through an organ generally known as a placenta. The placenta additionally handles gas-exchange and removes waste merchandise.
Main Mammal Teams
- Order Artiodactyla – even-toed ungulates: cattle, pigs, sheep, deer, antelopes, giraffes, camels, hippopotamuses and associated species
- Infraorder Cetacea (a part of Artiodactyla): whales, porpoises, dolphins
- Order Carnivora: canines, cats, seals, weasels, bears & associated species
- Order Chiroptera: bats
- Order Diprotodontia: kangaroos, possums, wombats & associated species
- Order Lagomorpha: rabbits, hares & associated species
- Order Monotremata: echidnas, platypus
- Order Perissodactyla – odd-toed ungulates: horses, rhinoceroses, tapirs
- Order Primates: lemurs, galagoes, monkeys, apes & associated species
- Order Rodentia: rodents
Varieties of Animals: Conclusion
We hope that you simply’ve loved this overview of the animal kingdom and assembly many various kinds of animals. In case you have any questions then be at liberty to ask them within the feedback part on the foot of the web page.
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