Biology Notebook: 06.

08 Animals
Objectives:
 Identify the defining characteristics of animals
 Describe the criteria used to group animals
 Explain how genetics reveals the evolutionary history of animals
 Describe the characteristics of invertebrates
 Describe the diversity of vertebrates including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and
mammals

Key Questions and Terms Notes

The Animal Kingdom
1. internal digestion
List the characteristics of most animals. 2. heterotrophic
3. multicellular
 eukaryotic cells 4. consist of eukaryotic cells.
 multicellular tissues and organs 5.  collagen-supported cells
 collagen-supported cell membranes 6.  mobility
 complex organ systems 7. most animals reproduce sexually.
 internal digestion
 advanced mobility
 sexual reproduction

Classifying Animals
What are the difference scientists use to Scientists use differences in morphology, structure,
classify animals? physiology, embryonic development, and genetic
sequences to classify animal species.

What is morphology? Morphology is the shape of an organism or the shape

What is symmetry?
What is bilateral symmetry? Give an example
of an animal with bilateral symmetry.
What is radial symmetry? Give an example of
an animal with radial symmetry.
What is segmentation?
of its cells.
Symmetry relates to morphology, as it refers to being
the same shape on both sides of a central dividing
line. Scientists use symmetry to categorize animal
species.
The butterfly in the image is bilaterally symmetrical
because its right side mirrors its left.
radially symmetrical because their bodies are
organized in a circle. Any cut through the center of a
radially symmetric organism would result in two
identical halves.
Segmentation is the structure of something made of
similar sections. It allows for independent movement

What are appendages?
How is an animal’s body cavity used to
classify?
How can animals be categorized by embryonic
development?
How are animals categorized by physiology?
How are genetic sequences used in
classification?
of different body parts. 
Appendages are external projections from the body
of an animal. They enhance an animal’s mobility,
thereby increasing their success in food gathering,
evading predators, and finding a mate.
 An animal’s body cavity is also a defining
structural characteristic. The inside of an
animal could be fluid-filled, to protect and
cushion internal organs during movement, or
it could lack fluid protection altogether.
Coelomates have fluid and connective tissue
within their body cavities that keep all their
organs in place.
 Pseudocoelomates have fluid protection, but
they lack some of the connective tissue
required to hold their organs in place.
 Acoelomates, like the flatworm pictured, do
not have a body cavity.
Embryonic development categorizes animals as well.
The cleavage of embryonic cells, which is how an
organism divides, can be different for each type of
organism.
An organism's physiology refers to its internal
workings. How does it move? How does it obtain its
food and metabolize it? How does it reproduce? The
answers to these questions allow scientists to classify
animal species even further. For instance, an animal
that is sessile, immobile or stuck to one spot, as the
coral pictured, will filter feed to obtain its food. It will
be classified in a different group than that of a
kangaroo, which moves from place to place eating
vegetation.
The similarities and differences between animal
genomes allow scientists to classify each species
based on their genetic connections to each other.
The classification of organisms is always a work in
progress. As we continue to sequence the DNA of
organisms, we reveal more about their evolutionary
histories. This leads to changes in their phylogeny, the
 classification system that organizes species based on
their evolutionary relationships.

The Phylogeny of Animals

What is used to determine evolutionary the patterns of embryonic development, animal cell
connections between species? structure, animal gene sequences, and animal
morphology also determine evolutionary connections
between species.

What is the common ancestor of animals? probably a flagellated protist.

How many phyla are in the animal kingdom? nine phyla in the animal kingdom. Eight of these
How many are invertebrates? phyla contain invertebrates.
Which phyla contain vertebrates?  The ninth phylum, named Chordata, contains
the vertebrates
What is the difference between vertebrates and
invertebrates?
The Vertebrates
List the classes of the chordata phylum. 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What are typical characteristics of fish? Typical fish have the following characteristics:

 Vertebrate
 Ecothermic (cold-blooded)
 Two-chambered heart
 Jaws or jawless
 Scales, paired fins, and gills
 Streamlined bodies
 Bones or cartilage
 Lay eggs to reproduce sexually

What are typical characteristics of amphibians? Typical amphibians have the following
characteristics:

 Vertebrate
 Ecothermic (cold-blooded)
 Three-chambered heart
 Gills during early development
 Lungs and lubricated skin in adult land phase
  Eyelids and inner and outer eardrums
 Lay eggs to reproduce

What are typical characteristics of reptiles? Typical reptiles have the following characteristics:

 Vertebrate
 Ecothermic (cold-blooded)
 Three-chambered heart
 Lungs, brain, and sensory organs
 Scaly skin that traps heat and moisture
 Advanced depth perception
 Lay amniotic eggs to reproduce

What are typical characteristics of birds? Typical birds have the following characteristics:

 Vertebrate
 Endothermic (warm-blooded)
 Four-chambered heart
 Brain and sensory organs
 Bipedal (two legs)
 Beaks for food gathering
 Stone-filled gizzards for digestion
 Feathers and lightweight skeleton
 Special lungs for oxygen exchange during
flight
 Internal fertilization and hard-shelled
amniotic eggs

What are typical characteristics of mammals? Typical mammals have the following characteristics:

 Vertebrate
 Endothermic (warm-blooded)
 Four-chambered heart
 Fur or hair
 Brains with neocortexes
 Specialized teeth
 Sweat glands for cooling
 Live birth of offspring
 Mammary glands for nursing their young
Chordata is the only animal phylum that contains vertebrates, the animals with backbones. This phylum is
divided into five classes: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. Let’s explore these classes in the
wildlife preserve interactive.

Sample Questions:
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of animals?

A. Heterotrophic
B. Contain eukaryotic cells
C. Contain cell walls
D. Mobility
All of the following our characteristics of mammals except mammals are not _____.

A. Endothermic
B. Exothermic
C. Vertebrates
D. Heterotrophs.
E. Now that you have examined the phylogenetic tree of animals, let’s compare the phyla of the animal
kingdom.

Invertebrat Bilateral Radial True body Segmente

e Symmetry Symmetry Tissues cavity d Deuterosomes
Chordata yes yes yes yes yes
Echinodermata yes yes yes yes yes yes
Arthropoda yes yes yes yes yes
Mollusca yes yes yes yes
Annelida yes yes yes yes yes
Nematoda yes yes yes yes
Platyhelminthes yes yes yes
Cnidaria yes yes yes
Porifera yes
F.  

Summary
All animals have the following traits in common:

 eukaryotic cells
  multicellular tissues and organs
 collagen-supported cell membranes
 complex organ systems
 internal digestion
 advanced mobility
 sexual reproduction

The differences between animals help categorize them but also provide background on their evolutionary
history. Animals developed true tissues, followed by full body cavities where organ systems could be housed
and protected. Some animals formed bilateral symmetry, where their right and left sides mirror each other.
Others formed radial symmetry, with bodies organized in a circle. As time passed, animals developed
segmented bodies and continued evolution led to full internal skeletons.

There are five classes of vertebrates: fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. From fish to mammals,
the brain gets bigger and more organized, and animals gain the ability to learn. In addition, their mobility shifts
from swimming to flight to bipedal walking. Lastly, vertebrates utilize new and improved forms of
reproduction. In fish and amphibians, water is necessary for egg laying. Reptile eggs have leathery coverings,
freeing them from the water. Bird eggs are covered with hard shells, an additional adaptation for eggs on land.
In mammals, eggs are left behind with the advance of live birth.

When you have completed this lesson, you should be able to:

1. identify the defining characteristics of animals

2. describe the criteria used to group animals
3. explain how genetics reveals the evolutionary history of animals
4. describe the characteristics of Arthropods