Animal Classification

Mammals
Birds
Fish
Reptiles
Amphibians
Insects

All About Mammals

Mammals are one of the 6 main classes of animals. Animal classes are groups of animals that scientists consider to be alike in
some important ways. Mammals are the animal class that people belong to.
There are only about 4,000 kinds of mammals. This sounds like a lot, but when you consider there are 21,000 kinds of fish
and a whopping 800,000 kinds of insects youll realize mammals are a pretty small class!
Here are some of the ways that mammals are alike!

Mammals are warm blooded.

The temperature could be freezing cold

or boiling hot,

but mammals bodies are built to maintain just about the same temperature all the time. Warm blood lets the mammals be
very active and live in a wide variety of places.
Mammals are everywhere. Polar bears live in very cold areas. Camels live in hot areas. Moles live under the ground. Bats
live in caves and fly in the air. Dolphins live in the oceans. Fur and fat help protect mammals who live in the cold. Mammals
sweat or pant to release extra heat if they live somewhere toasty.

All mammals have fur or hair.

Sometimes it's long hair covers their entire body
Sometimes it's very short hair or there are just a few strands.

Even mammals that swim under the water (like dolphins and whales) have hair. Though you would need a magnifying glass to
see the fine hair on the lips of a young whale.
Mammals are the only animals with true hair. Hair are dead cords of a substance
called keratin which is also what our fingernails are made from. The most important
part is that hair is dead.

What looks like hair on a fly or a spider actually contains living parts of
the animal.
That means if you cut a spider's hair it would HURT! (er, the spider)

Source:

http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/mammals.htm & http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/mammals2.htm

All About Birds

What's a bird?
Do you know what makes a bird different from other animals?

Is it the pretty
colors?
No -- other animals,
like fish and insects,
come in all sorts of
beautiful colors too.
Karner Blue Butterfly - insect
Blue Jay - bird

Is it the bill or beak?

No -- other animals, like
the duck billed platypus (a
mammal), have bills too.

toucan - bird

platypus - mammal

Is it the eggs?
No -- other animals, like
fish, amphibians, reptiles,
insects and even some
mammals, hatch from
eggs as well.

crocodile egg

penguin egg

dragonfly - insect

Is it the wings?
No -- other animals, like
insects and some
mammals, have wings.

bald eagle - bird

Then what is it!?

Feathers!
All birds have feathers and birds are the only
animals that do!

peacock - bird

Feathers do many jobs for birds. Soft down

keeps them warm, wing feathers allow flight and
tail feathers are used for steering.
The color of the feathers can be used to hide the
bird or to help the bird find a boyfriend or a
girlfriend!

The Raptors
Birds of prey or "raptors" are meat eating birds that use their strong feet, talons and hooked beaks to catch and kill their
prey. This group includes eagles, osprey, hawks, owls (Great Horned Owl), kites, harriers, buzzards, merlins,
vultures, goshawks and condors. They eat small mammals such as mice and rabbits, fish, snakes, and even other birds. Some
catch and kill their food and others (like vultures) feast on the leftovers other hunters leave behind.

Look at the photo of the bald eagle to the left.

Can you see how strong it's beak looks? See
how it has a hooked end? This beak is used to
tear into flesh.

bald eagle

Birds don't have teeth... can you guess why?

Teeth are heavy and would make it very
difficult for birds to fly. This is especially
important for birds of prey who must fly
swiftly to catch their food. Birds "chew" their
food inside a part of the stomach called the
gizzard. The gizzard has strong muscles which
grind the food against a rough inner surface to
break it down.

I spy with my little eye...

Raptor eyes are so big that they cannot move them. The
bird has to turn its entire head to look around (that's where
the idea that owls can spin their heads around comes from...
they can't really, but they can turn their heads a LOT farther
than we can!)
The eyes of a raptor are so important for their survival, that
they have three eyelids. The third one is partially seethrough (partly "transparent") which allows the birds of prey
to protect their eyes when attacking prey and still have some
sight.
owl

Birds of prey have eyesight that is at least two or three times better than ours. Some can see a grasshopper from the
other side of a football field! Golden eagles can spot a rabbit from over a mile away and owls have great night vision so they
can hunt in the dark.

A bird of prey's toenails are called talons. Talons are very

sharp, hook-like appendages that are used to catch prey and
balance on trees.
Raptors that spend a lot of time soaring above the ground in
search of prey have long broad wings that allow them to
catch rising air currents and soar through the air. Soaring
saves energy because the bird doesn't have to flap its wings
to stay aloft. Soaring also makes it harder for a potential
meal to spot the bird of prey.
hawk

Raptor Babies
No matter what type of animal we're talking
about, babies are cute -- but they're also a lot
of work.
From just before the eggs are laid to midway
through the nesting period, the male bird is busy
hunting for food for the female and babies.

Most birds of prey lay one to six eggs, but they don't lay them all at once. They wait a day or two after each egg before
laying the next. The first chick to hatch is bigger than the others and may actually kill it's younger siblings if food is scarce. I'm
sure all of us oldest children have envied the raptors once or twice in our lifetimes.
The length of time it takes for the babies to get large enough to start flying is called the "fledgling period". This can be
anywhere between 20 and 150 days. This is a big part of the raptor parents' life! Especially since they lay eggs every year.

Scientific information: Raptors are part of two scientific

"orders" Falconiformes and Strigiformes. Falconiformes are "diurnal" which means they
hunt mainly during the day -- for example, eagles, hawks and falcons. This order includes
four "families" -- Cathartidae (vultures), Accipitridae (hawks, eagles and kites),
Pandionidae (osprey), Falconidae (falcon and kestrel).

Stringiformes is just a fancy way of saying owls. This order includes two "families" -the Tytonidae (barn owls) and the Strigidae (all other owls).

Peregrine Falcon

Waterfowl
From Daffy Duck to Mother Goose, waterfowl seem to be some of the most popular birds to turn into cartoon
characters. Perhaps it's the oversized bills, the nasal QUACK/HONK or the slight waddle in the walk that make these birds
such a fond part of children's literature and television. Whatever the attraction, these ugly ducklings have been turning into
swans for generations.

mallard ducks

The main characteristic of ducks, geese and

swans (known as waterfowl) is that they all
love to swim. Although they have somewhat
different diets, they all spend a lot of time in the
water. Ducks and swans dip, duck and dive to
get at insects, snails, small fish and water
plants. Geese mainly graze on land in fields and
meadows eating plants, grass and seeds.

When they aren't in the water, waterfowl

waddle their way through life.
Swans and most ducks are clumsy and
awkward on land. Some kinds of ducks can
barely walk at all, and hardly ever leave the
water. Geese are a bit better at walking, since
they spend a lot of time feeding on land, but you
can still make out the waddle if you watch them
for awhile.
Those awkward legs are great in the water
though. The legs are quite far apart and the
feet are webbed which makes waterfowl a
graceful group of swimmers.

mute swan (trumpeter swans have black bills,

mute swans have orange bills)

With a Quack, Quack here and a Meow,

Meow there?
Ducks say "quack". Geese and swans say "honk"... right?
Well, for the most part that is true, but although many
geese do honk and most ducks do quack, others make
altogether different sounds.
redhead duck

Some geese cackle and cluck like hens and chickens. Some ducks squeal, squeak and cluck. And a male Redhead
DuckMEOWS like a cat.
... I'll bet that confuses the other birds in the marsh!

Bills, bills, bills

When we spoke about raptors, we noted that their beaks were hooked and pointed for
tearing flesh.
Waterfowl have very different beaks (or bills). They are flat and rounded. Perfect for
rooting around in soft marsh soil for plants and small animals

Of all the cute images of waterfowl you'll find

in books and cartoons, the image of mom
followed by a row of little waddling goslings (or
ducklings) is the cutest.
Most waterfowl build their nests near the
water's edge. Though there are some ducks
that make their nests in trees or holes in the
ground.

geese

Baby waterfowl hatch with their eyes open and can walk and swim right away. While the babies are growing up, first one
parent and then the other molts or sheds the long wing and tail feathers. While they are molting, the parent cannot fly. But
by the end of summer, both parents have grown new feathers as have the young ones, so they are all able to migrate
together.
And that brings us to the last characteristic of waterfowl -- most of them migrate. They form flocks (or groups) of birds
and form familiar patterns in the sky. Some like the Canada Geese, fly in a pattern shaped like a V. Others such as Black
Brants fly in a single slanting line.
Although these patterns may seem odd, they have a very important purpose. The first goose in line pushes through the air
and makes a path for the others. It really does make it easier for the others to fly! When the leader gets tired, it drops back
and another moves up to take its place!
Scientific information: Waterfowl make up the scientific "order" Anseriformes. Within this order are the
"families" Anhimidae andAnatidae -- most of the waterfowl fall into the second family.

Flightless Birds
Although it's true that all birds have feathers and wings, that doesn't necessarily mean they can all fly.

A penguin spends as much as 75% of it's life at

sea. It doesn't use it's wings to fly -- it uses
them to swim.
Its streamlined body and strong wings allow it
to swim as fast as 15 miles per hour after fish,
krill, squid and crustaceans.

penguin swimming

Puffins CAN fly, but they tend not to. Like the penguin, it
uses its wings to move through the water catching fish and
other small sea creatures by diving.
Puffins spend a few months each year living on an island.
The rest of the time they live in the northern seas.
Puffins only go to the island when it is time to have babies.
When the baby hatches and reaches about 6 weeks old, the
parents return to the sea, stranding it on the island. All by
itself, the chick learns to swim and catch fish to eat.
puffin

The largest living bird is the ostrich which can be as

big as 8 feet tall and 330 pounds. The ostrich relies
on its speed, size and strong kick rather than flight
for safety. An ostrich can kill a person with one kick
and can run up to 40 miles per hour.
Ostriches live in flocks in dry parts of Africa.
Flocks can have as many as 600 birds in them.
Ostriches are vegetarian and spend much of their
time searching out water.

The emus of Australia are the second largest bird. They can
grow to 6 feet tall and weigh 100 pounds. Emus are also fast
runners.
They live in smaller flocks on the dry plains and deserts in
Australia. They feed on leaves, grass, and insects.
Father emus are the caregivers -- they build the nests,
incubate the eggs and raise the babies until they are able to
take care of themselves.
Australian emu

The New Zealand Kiwi has nothing to do with kiwifruit. It lives in

moist forests and uses its long, bendable bill to poke around the
ground in search of worms.
Unlike many of the other flightless birds, the kiwi is not very large.
It's only about a foot and a half long. To avoid predators, the kiwi
hides during the day and comes out at night to search for food.
The kiwi has fine feathers that make it look almost furry. It has no
tail feathers and its wings are so small they're typically not very easy
to see.

The Rhea of South America, the Kakapo of New Zealand and the Cassowary of Australia and New Guinea are also
flightless birds. A number of extinct birds were also flightless, including the Dodo of Mauritius and the Moa and Dinornis of
New Zealand.
Scientific information:
Penguins make up the scientific "order" Sphenisciformes.

Puffins belong to the scientific order Alcidae.

Ostriches make up the scientific order Struthioniformes.

Cassowaries and Emus make up the scientific order Casuariiformes.

Kiwis make up the scientific order Apterygidae.
Rheas makes up the scientific order Rheiformes.

Source:

http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/birds1.htm & http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/birds2.htm &

http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/birds3.htm & http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/birds4.htm

All About Fish

Clownfish.
Photo Source: Leanne Guenther

What distinguishes fish from the other animal

classes?
Fish are a class of aquatic vertebrates. The
combination of gills, fins and the fact that they live
only in the water make fish different from all other
animals.

Fish spend all of their lives in

the water and are coldblooded with the exception of
Tuna family and the Mackerel
shark family.
Some fish are beautiful...
Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery

And some...not so much.

Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery

Scientists believe that there are

more than 24,000
different species of fish in the
world.
Lion Fish or Scorpion fish
Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery

Yes!
A seahorse is a fish.
Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery

They range in size from the largest, Whale shark at 16

m (51 ft) long, to the smallest the 8 mm (1/4 in.) Stout
Infantfish.

The Whale Shark is the largest

member of the fish family.

Most fish have a skeleton made of bone but some, like

sharks, have a skeleton made of cartilage.

Shark skeletons are made

of cartilage, not bone.
Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery

Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery

We are not FISH!

Many people mistakenly
group whales and
dolphins into the fish
family. They are
actually mammals.
They are warmblooded, feed their
babies with milk from
their bodies and
breathe air into lungs.

Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery

Jellyfish and starfish are not fish at all! They are marine invertebrates.

Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery

Source:

http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/fish1.htm

Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery

& http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/fish2.htm

All About Reptiles

So what makes a reptile
a reptile?
The two biggest clues
are:
1) they are coldblooded, and
2) they are covered in
scales.

Being cold-blooded means that their bodies react to the

temperature of their surroundings. When they get too warm,
they can go into the water or shade to cool off.

A turtle finds some shade to cool down.

Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery

When they get too cold they can hang out in the sun to warm
themselves up.

A lizard catches some sun to warm up.

Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery

Some creatures that

belong to the reptile
group of animals are
snakes, alligators,
crocodiles, tortoises,
lizards, etc.

Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery

Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery

Scales protect their bodies.

Scales can be hard or soft,
large or small.
Snake Scales
Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery

A crocodile's back has

large bumpy scales.
Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery

Reptiles are born on land and are born with strong

instincts, so they are on their own at birth. Just think,
no parents to nag them about cleaning their rooms!

Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery

Source:

http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/reptiles1.htm

All About Amphibians

The word amphibian means two-lives.

Amphibians spend their lives in the water and
on land.

Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery

All amphibians begin their life in water with gills and

tails. As they grow, they develop lungs and legs for
their life on land.

Bullfrog tadpole.

Amphibians are coldblooded, which means

that they are the same
temperature as the air
or water around
them.
Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery

Photo Source: Corel Web Gallery

There are more than 4,000 different kinds of

amphibians. Members of this animal class are frogs,
toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians or
blindworms.
Fire Salamander
Photo Source: Wikipedia (Public Domain) User - Emilisha

Source: http://www.kidzone.ws/animals/amphibian1.htm
What is an insect?

Insects are a special group of arthropods. All insects share several, easily-recognizable external characteristics including:
Three body segments
(head, thorax, and abdomen)
Three pairs of jointed legs,
all of which are attached to the thorax
Antennae (although there are a few species of insects with no antennae)
Wings (though there are some flightless insects)
The figure below demonstrates some of these characteristics of insects.

Source:

http://www.butterflyschool.org/student/insect.html