Animal Kingdom

The Animal Kingdom is the biggest of kingdom classifications because there are more animal species than any of the other kingdoms.

Even if you added up all of the organisms from the other kingdoms, the Animal Kingdom would be the largest.

Characteristics

In order to be a part of the Animal Kingdom, the organism must have three different characteristics.

The first characteristics is that they must rely on plants, or other animals to have nourishment.

The second characteristic is that they must be able to move around, and the third characteristic is that they have more than one cell.

Animal Reproduction

Animals reproduce sexually meaning they have offspring that have the same genetic traits, and the offspring will look like their parents.

Animals have the ability to see, touch, taste, smell and hear. They are made up of millions of cells and the cells can divide and work together.

Animals have organ systems which help the animals to live.

Division of the Animal Kingdom

Because there are so many different animals in the animal kingdom, they are divided into two different sections, vertebrates and invertebrates.

Vertebrates are animals that have backbones, and invertebrates are animals that have no backbone.

Vertebrates and invertebrates are then broken down to more groups, by putting them into groups such as reptiles, amphibians, birds, mammals and fish.

Facts About the Animal Kingdom:

• Dolphins have a sonar that help them to find their way around the water.
• Orca whales have their own language and they can call other whales.
• Cats can drink saltwater to get rehydrated.
• Cobras cannot hear music.
• There are over 9 million animals in the animal kingdom.
• Animals are heterotrophs which means they rely on other organisms to get food.

What Did You Learn?

• What is the biggest of all the Kingdoms? The animal kingdom is bigger than all of the other kingdoms combines.
• How is the Animal Kingdom divided? The Animal Kingdom is divided by vertebrates and invertebrates.
• What animal does not have a backbone? Invertebrates do not have a backbone.
• What types of animals do have a backbone? Vertebrates have a backbone.
• How many different animals are there? There are over 9 million different animal species.
• What are the three characteristics that make something an animal? The first thing is that they have to rely on something else for food, in other words, they do not make their own food. The second thing is they have to be able to move around and the third is that they have to be multi-cellular, which means they have more than one cell.

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