Classifying Living Things Vertebrate Classification

Important Characteristics Classification Kingdom Important Characteristics Examples Animals Many-celled, feed on other living things Monkeys, birds, frogs, spiders Plants Many-celled, make their own food Trees, flowers, grasses, ferns, mosses Fungi Most many-celled, absorb food from other living things or dead things such as logs Mushrooms, yeasts, molds Protists Most one-celled, make their own food or feed on other living things Algae, amoebas, diatoms Monerans One-celled, no cell nuclei, some make their own food, some feed on other living things Bacteria

Classification Kingdom: Animalia (animals) Phylum: All Living Things Kingdom: Animalia (animals) Phylum: Chordata (vertebrates) Class: Mammalia (mammals) Order: Carnivora (carnivores) Family: Ursidae Genus: Ursus Species: Ursus arctos

Animals With a Backbone Animals are made up of many cells and cannot make their own food Vertebrates = animals with a backbone Have sharp senses and large brains These help them survive Mammals = vertebrates with hair that produce milk for their young Cats, dogs, humans Reptiles = vertebrates with dry, scaly skin Snakes, lizards, turtles Amphibians = vertebrates with moist skin and no scales Most begin life in the water and then live on land as adults Frogs, toads, newts

Animals With a Backbone Fish = vertebrates that live their entire life in the water Most have scales and gills to take in oxygen Birds = vertebrates with feathers Feathers keep them warm and help them fly Some birds don’t fly Invertebrates = an animal without a backbone More invertebrates than vertebrates Some invertebrates have a hard outer shell Snails, clams Some invertebrates don’t have a hard shell Worms, tapeworms, insects, spiders

A Closer Look at Animals Most animals have skeletons and muscles Skeletons are made up of bones and muscles attach to the bones at joints Skeletons of invertebrates are in he form of hard outer coverings (like fingernails). Muscles of invertebrates attach on the inside of the hard covering at joints