 |
| The Kingdom of Animals |
Animals are creatures that are capable of moving feeding and breeding,. An animal is born it develops by eating food and reproduces animals of its own type and eventually dies. The reproduced animals carry on the came cycle. The kingdom of animals is made up of over 10 million species and is the largest group of living beings known to man. In terms of size they range from small Jelly fish to large Blue Whales.
More Topics:
This kingdom comprises of two large families called the ‘Vertebrates’ and the ‘Invertebrates’. Vertebrates have internal skeletons and a backbone and these include creatures like reptiles, fishes , amphibians, mammals and man.
On the other hand Invertebrates do not have internal skeletons instead
they may in some cases have outer skeletons called ‘Exoskeletons’ in the
shape of shells like in Crabs, snails etc. These exoskeletons have joints
which are flexible and controlled by the muscles underneath. This allows
mobility. The outer shells do not grow, instead they are discarded by the
animals and new ones from underneath.
Other invertebrates have no bone but have soft tissue or fleshy bodies like Jelly fish, sea Anemones, sponges, earthworms etc. Animals too have organs in their bodies which perform various functions.
They too have a respiratory, digestive, hormonal, nervous and reproductive system. Their skeletons are designed and shaped to suit their living environment and body movement.
Invertebrates have internal organs which are much like the Vertebrates. Animals, like man have all five senses, i.e., touch, smell, hear, see and taste. Some senses may be strong in some animals and weak in other a dog for example has a very sharp sense of smell while an owl has a very clear vision at night. Development of animal senses largely depends upon their environment of living and the need for a particular sense for their survival.
Tags:
Encyclopedia