Classifying animals

Most of the animals we know are vertebrates, for example: fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals.
But there are a lot more invertebrates in the world, such as insects and worms.

Animals are divided into vertebrates and invertebrates, depending on whether they have a spinal column
or not.

INVERTEBRATES.
Invertebrates have no spinal column, they haven´t got bones. All of them are oviparous.

GROUPS:

- ANNELIDS: They have got long and thin bodies divided into rings.
Example: worms.

- MOLLUSCS: They have got soft bodies, their skin is viscous. Most
of them have a shell, for example: mussels or snails, but other haven´t got a shell, for
example octopuses.

The shell of mollusks is made of calcium.

MOLLUSCS WITH A SHELL MOLLUSKS WITH NO SHELL

MUSSELS
OCTOPUS

SQUID
SNAILS
- ARTHROPODS. They have a hard skin, called and exoskeleton, to protect their body. They
have got legs. Examples of arthropods are:

Insects:Ladybug, Arachnids: spiders, Crustaceans: prawns, shrimp, Myriapods:

grasshopper, butterfly, bee, scorpion… crabs, lobster. centipede
beatle, ant…
INSECTS.

Insects belong to the group called arthropods. They are the most numerous animals on the planet and
they live almost everywhere.

Their bodies are divided into the head, thorax and abdomen.

All of them have six legs and two antennae. Most of them have wings.

CURIOSITIES ABOUT INSECTS

- Do you know where flies have got their taste organs?

On their feet!

- Only female mosquitoes feed on blood.

- A butterfly´s wings have scales of different colours.

- All the insects are cold blooded.

- Spiders are not insects.

VERTEBRATES
All vertebrates have bones and a spinal column made up of vertebrae.

A vertebrate´s body is divided into a head, torso and limbs and the majority have a tail.
 Their skin is very varied: most of them are covered by fur, but there
are also vertebrates covered by scales and others have feathers. And
frogs haven´t got fur, scales or feathers. They have bare skin.

Although they are very different, both the GORILLA and the FISH are
vertebrates because they both have a spinal column.

GROUPS OF VERTEBRATES.

Vertebrates are divided into five groups: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and
mammals.

1. FISH.

They live in water. Their bodies are covered in

scales and they swim using their fins. They breathe

through gills and are oviparous.

2. REPTILES.

They have bodies that are covered in scales, but some, like turtles,
have got a shell and dry skin. They breathe through lungs and are
oviparous.
 3. AMPHIBIANS.

They breathe through lungs, through gills and also

through their skin. They need to have their skin water, for this
reason, they live where there is water. They are oviparous, they
lay eggs that are covered by jelly.

Amphibians aren´t born totally formed, when they become into adults their bodies change,
thanks to METAMORPHOSIS process.

4. BIRDS

They have bodies covered with feathers (except the penguin), and two
wings that they use to fly (but some birds like ostriches, penguins or hens
can´t fly). They also have two legs and a beak and claws. They breathe
through lungs and they are oviparous, they lay eggs and then the
babies are born from an egg.

5. MAMMALS

What are mammal bodies like? Most of mammals have skin covered by fur, but others, like
dolphins haven´t got fur, they have got a bare skin.

What is birth like for mammals? Mammals are born

from their mother´s womb. They are
viviparous. They are born totally formed.

What do mammal babies eat? Mammals feed their

babies with milk. Babies nurse from their mother ´s
breast.

How do mammals breathe? They breathe through lungs.