Animal Wikipedia

Nearly all modern animal phyla first appeared in the fossil record as marine species during the Cambrian explosion, which began around 539 million years ago (Mya), and most classes during the Ordovician radiation 485.4 Mya. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, have myocytes and are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and grow from a hollow sphere of cells, the blastula, during embryonic development. The strange fish-looking water-mammal named Dolphi Click on any of the animals below to learn more about them! Discover the many amazing animals that live on our planet. From Latin animal “living being that can move,” derived from animalis “animate,” from anima “soul, breath” — related to animate see Word History at animate

Animals differ from plants and fungi in fundamental variations in morphology and physiology, notably in regard to animals’ development of muscles and mobility. Some of the most popular types of animals on earth are pets. We track thousands of animals from every continent and corner on earth, and are adding more every day! Like mammals, birds are warm-blooded vertebrates with four-chambered hearts. Their feathers distinguish them from all other classes of animal; no other animals on earth have them. Birds, members of the class Aves, include more than 10,400 living species.

See all invertebrate species profiles on Active Wild See all amphibian species profiles on Active Wild Such control permits specialization of cells, each with identical DNA but with the ability to control finely which genes successfully send copies into the cytoplasm. Animals move in pursuit of food, mates, or refuge from predators, and this movement attracts attention and interest, particularly as it becomes apparent that the behaviour of some creatures is not so very different from human behaviour. Animals follow virtually every known mode of living that has been described for the creatures of Earth.

Birds are the only living descendants of dinosaurs, and are often referred to as “avian dinosaurs”. Reptiles are cold-blooded and most lay eggs, although some reptiles give birth to live young. One branch of dinosaurs evolved into birds, and some scientists consider birds to be part of Reptilia. They evolved from amphibians around 310 million years ago.

• Protected by scales, and able to lay eggs, early reptiles were no longer reliant on water, and could occupy habitats unavailable to amphibians.
• Step into the world of animals, from wildlife to beloved pets.
• We track all types of animals like lions and tigers, dogs and cats, even dinosaurs and spiders.
• A crustacean’s body is protected by a hard exoskeleton.
• They also feed their young with milk produced by the mother’s body.

Animals – A Complete Guide: Conclusion

A complete guide to animals and the animal kingdom, plus links to essential animal information on Active Wild. The semirigid cell walls found in plants and fungi, which constrain the shape and hence the diversity of possible cell types, are absent in animals. Nevertheless, animals represent three-quarters or more of the species on Earth, a diversity that reflects the flexibility in feeding, defense, and reproduction which mobility gives them. In size animals are outdone on land by plants, among whose foliage they may often hide.

• The group includes fish such as trout, goldfish, cod and marlin.
• Sponges are very primitive animals, lacking organs and a nervous system.
• Choose your favorite letter below to see all animals that start with it today.
• Joeys undergo further development within a special pouch in the mother’s body.
• A-Z Animals follow’s the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species definitions of threatened and endangered animals.

Endangered Animals

Dyestuffs including carmine (cochineal), shellac, and kermes have been made from the bodies of insects. Animal fibres such as wool and silk are used to make textiles, while animal sinews have been used as lashings and bindings, and leather is widely used to make shoes and other items. The protozoa were later moved to the former kingdom Protista, leaving only the Metazoa as a synonym of Animalia.

Tracking disease outbreaks to the ends of the Earth

Dogs, the first domesticated animal, have been used in hunting, in security and in warfare, as have horses, pigeons and birds of prey; while other terrestrial and aquatic animals are hunted for sports, trophies or profits. In 1874, Ernst Haeckel divided the animal kingdom into the multicellular Metazoa (now synonymous with Animalia) and the Protozoa, single-celled organisms no longer considered animals. Carl Linnaeus created the first hierarchical biological classification for animals in 1758 with his Systema Naturae, which Jean-Baptiste Lamarck expanded into 14 phyla by 1809. Common to all living animals, 6,331 groups of genes have been identified that may have arisen from a single common ancestor that lived about 650 Mya during the Cryogenian period.

Lizards, dinosaurs, crocodiles, turtles, and snakes – all belong to that ancient and stout class of animals known as the reptiles. Unlike other animal types like birds and insects, all mammal babies drink milk that comes from their mother’s bodies. Animals that are considered mammals include warm-blooded vertebrates that have hair or fur and whose babies drink milk. Invertebrates including cephalopods, crustaceans, insects—principally bees and silkworms—and bivalve or gastropod molluscs are hunted or farmed for food, fibres.

Synonyms of animal

A-Z Animals follow’s the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species definitions of threatened and endangered animals. See the complete list of invertebrates. We believe Animal Therapy Benefits if people are more educated about the world’s animals, they will better car for them. That’s why we add new animals for you to discover – each and every day! Insects, birds and mammals play roles in literature and film, such as in giant bug movies.

Corals

See the complete list of fish. They usually have gills, paired fins, a long body covered with scales, and tend to be cold-blooded. Fish are aquatic vertebrates.

Farm Animals

Many animal phyla first appear in the fossil record during the Cambrian explosion, starting about 539 million years ago, in beds such as the Burgess Shale. It had long been doubted whether these fossils truly represented animals, but the discovery of the animal lipid cholesterol in fossils of Dickinsonia establishes their nature. Using patterns within the taxonomic hierarchy, the total number of animal species—including those not yet described—was calculated to be about 7.77 million in 2011.a For instance, around 25,000–27,000 species of nematodes have been described, while published estimates of the total number of nematode species include 10,000–20,000; 500,000; 10 million; and 100 million.

Below are listed the main characteristics of animals. In order to be placed in the animal kingdom, rather than another kingdom, an organism must have certain characteristics, which are listed in the following section. Animals range from relatively simple organisms such as sponges and jellyfish to complex ones such as humans and elephants. An animal is a complex, multicellular organism that belongs to the biological kingdom Animalia – the animal kingdom. Our closest relatives in the animal kingdom are chimpanzees (and bonobos), which, like us, belong to the “great ape” family, Hominidae.

The chordates are dominated by the vertebrates (animals with backbones), which consist of fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. This group includes mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Here you can find out all about thousands of mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, and fishes walking, flying, and swimming the Earth.

The protostomes include the Ecdysozoa, named after their shared trait of ecdysis, growth by moulting, Among the largest ecdysozoan phyla are the arthropods and the nematodes. Many bilaterian phyla have primary larvae which swim with cilia and have an apical organ containing sensory cells. Having a front end means that this part of the body encounters stimuli, such as food, favouring cephalisation, the development of a head with sense organs and a mouth. These animals have a head end (anterior) and a tail end (posterior), a back (dorsal) surface and a belly (ventral) surface, and a left and a right side. They typically feed by drawing in water through pores, filtering out small particles of food.

In modern times, the biological classification of animals relies on advanced techniques, such as molecular phylogenetics, which are effective at demonstrating the evolutionary relationships between taxa. Historically, Aristotle divided animals into those with blood and those without. The animal kingdom is divided into five major clades, namely Porifera, Ctenophora, Placozoa, Cnidaria and Bilateria. The scientific study of animals is known as zoology, and the study of animal behaviour is known as ethology. It has been estimated there are as many as 7.77 million animal species on Earth.

Although all animals share the above characteristics, animals exhibit diverse body plans, life cycles, and forms of behavior. Today, over 2 million different animal species have been identified (around half of which are insects). The first animals were likely sponge-like sea creatures that appeared in Earth’s oceans around 665 million years ago (source). In order to understand the relationships between different species, zoologists classify animals into groups. Scroll down (or click the image above) to see a complete guide to animals and the animal kingdom.

In his original scheme, the animals were one of three kingdoms, divided into the classes of Vermes, Insecta, Pisces, Amphibia, Aves, and Mammalia. In the classical era, Aristotle divided animals,d based on his own observations, into those with blood (roughly, the vertebrates) and those without. Ambulacraria are exclusively marine and include acorn worms, starfish, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers. Many bilaterians have a combination of circular muscles that constrict the body, making it longer, and an opposing set of longitudinal muscles, that shorten the body; these enable soft-bodied animals with a hydrostatic skeleton to move by peristalsis. Despite their morphological dissimilarity with all other animals, genetic evidence suggests sponges may be more closely related to other animals than the comb jellies are. The Porifera (sponges) have long been assumed to be sister to the rest of the animals, but there is evidence that the Ctenophora may be in that position.