The science of classifying animals is called systematics or taxonomy. This science determines family relationships between organisms. The degree of relationship is not always determined by external similarity. For example, marsupial mice are very similar to ordinary mice, and tupai are very similar to squirrels. However, these animals belong to different orders. But armadillos, anteaters and sloths, completely different from each other, are united into one squad. The fact is that family ties between animals are determined by their origin. By studying the skeletal structure and dental system of animals, scientists determine which animals are closest to each other, and paleontological finds of ancient extinct species of animals help to more accurately establish family ties between their descendants. Plays a major role in the taxonomy of animals genetics- the science of the laws of heredity.

The first mammals appeared on Earth about 200 million years ago, separating from animal-like reptiles. The historical path of development of the animal world is called evolution. During evolution, natural selection occurred - only those animals survived that were able to adapt to environmental conditions. Mammals have evolved in different directions, forming many species. It happened that animals that had a common ancestor at some stage began to live in different conditions and acquired different skills in the struggle for survival. Their appearance was transformed, and changes useful for the survival of the species were consolidated from generation to generation. Animals whose ancestors looked the same relatively recently began to differ greatly from each other over time. Conversely, species that had different ancestors and went through different evolutionary paths sometimes find themselves in the same conditions and, changing, become similar. Thus, species unrelated to each other acquire common features, and only science can trace their history.

Classification of the animal world

The living nature of the Earth is divided into five kingdoms: bacteria, protozoa, fungi, plants and animals. Kingdoms, in turn, are divided into types. Exists 10 types animals: sponges, bryozoans, flatworms, roundworms, annelids, coelenterates, arthropods, molluscs, echinoderms and chordates. Chordates are the most progressive type of animals. They are united by the presence of a notochord, the primary skeletal axis. The most highly developed chordates are grouped into the vertebrate subphylum. Their notochord is transformed into a spine.

Kingdoms

Types are divided into classes. Total exists 5 classes of vertebrates: fish, amphibians, birds, reptiles (reptiles) and mammals (animals). Mammals are the most highly organized animals of all vertebrates. What all mammals have in common is that they feed their young with milk.

The class of mammals is divided into subclasses: oviparous and viviparous. Oviparous mammals reproduce by laying eggs, like reptiles or birds, but feed their young with milk. Viviparous mammals are divided into infraclasses: marsupials and placentals. Marsupials give birth to underdeveloped young, which are carried to term in the mother's brood pouch for a long time. In placentals, the embryo develops in the mother's womb and is born already formed. Placental mammals have a special organ - the placenta, which carries out the exchange of substances between the maternal body and the embryo during intrauterine development. Marsupials and oviparous animals do not have a placenta.

Types of animals

Classes are divided into squads. Total exists 20 orders of mammals. In the oviparous subclass there is one order: monotremes, in the marsupial infraclass there is one order: marsupials, in the placental infraclass there are 18 orders: odontates, insectivores, woolly wings, chiropterans, primates, carnivores, pinnipeds, cetaceans, sirenians, proboscideans, hyraxes, aardvarks, artiodactyls, Callopods, lizards, rodents and lagomorphs.

Mammal class

Some scientists distinguish the independent order Tupaya from the order of primates, from the order of insectivores they separate the order Jumpers, and the predators and pinnipeds are combined into one order. Each order is divided into families, families into genera, and genera into species. In total, about 4,000 species of mammals currently live on earth. Each individual animal is called an individual.

Fish, crayfish, whales, jellyfish, animals and live on the ground and in the air, and earthworms, moles and mole crickets live in the soil. The habitat for some animals is other living organisms and plants.

photo: Bill Gracey

The fauna of our planet is represented by unique organisms: from single-celled crumbs that can only be seen with a microscope, to giant whales whose mass reaches 150 tons. Thanks to constant evolution, animal organisms are endowed with unique properties: they move, feed, protect themselves from enemies, reproduce and raise offspring in various conditions.

Animal classification

In the animal kingdom the following taxa are distinguished:

Family;

Species are united into a genus, families into a series, classes into a phylum. In addition to these taxa, intermediate concepts are used: subtypes, subclasses and others. All living organisms are divided into:

Protozoa;

Insects;

Amphibians;

Reptiles;

Mammals.

photo: David Shannon

Meaning of Animals

Representatives of the animal world are of great importance for the entire planet: they participate in the cycle of substances in nature, pollinate plants, and distribute fruits and seeds. They act as natural orderlies; in addition, they regulate the number of herbivorous organisms. : Animals are farmed and harvested for meat, hides, fur, milk and eggs; animals are used for research, medical and scientific purposes. The effects of certain medications are studied on laboratory mice, hamsters, rats and guinea pigs; monkeys are used in experiments with table cells. Bee and snake venom are used for medicinal purposes.

photo: Rob Escott

Peculiarities of animal settlement

The population density of representatives of the animal world is influenced by various factors. These include climate, terrain, human activities and relationships between different species. Adaptation to environmental conditions is expressed in the characteristics of living organisms. Thus, in order to find favorable conditions for living, feeding and reproduction, many organisms travel vast distances. These movements are called migrations. As an example, we can give the following example: fish of the salmon order grow in the sea and reproduce in the upper reaches of rivers. The fry of these fish hatched from eggs are carried back to the sea by the river current, where they continue to grow.

photo: Jiya Aggarwal

If you move from the poles to the equator, it becomes noticeable that the number of species of living organisms increases. The biggest one is . For example, there are more than 40 species of parrots alone, and thousands of species of butterflies.

Evolution of Biodiversity

In the history of the animal world, there have always been periods of decline and increase in biodiversity. They are characterized by the emergence of new species that replaced others. Scientists learn about these stages from archaeological excavations: fossils and impressions. Thus, in the Precambrian, 670 million years BC, soft-bodied invertebrate animals, annelids and coelenterates dominated. The Cambrian and Silurian, 590-438 million years BC, were characterized by shelled marine invertebrates, insects reigned during the Late Carboniferous and Cenozoic, amphibians dominated the Carboniferous and Triassic, reptiles were most abundant in the Permian and Cretaceous, and mammals reached their peak in the Cenozoic.

The flourishing and decline of species is a natural process that occurs under the influence of climate change in individual regions and on the entire planet as a whole. Scientists assume that most species of living organisms will become extinct sooner or later. Some will transform into more evolutionarily advanced species, but others will not be able to adapt to new environmental conditions. The latter are threatened with extinction.

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Animals surround us everywhere, and they are not always visible to the human eye. To view some representatives of the fauna, you will need a microscope. The science of zoology studies the diversity of the animal world. Let's look at the basic forms of animals.

Amphibians

Representatives of amphibians received their name due to their habitat: they can only live next to a source of water. They spend some of their time on land, and some in the water.

Amphibians are often called amphibians. These are toads, frogs, salamanders, newts. They live near swamps, rivers, lakes.

Features of amphibians:

Bare skin that needs regular moisturizing.
Baby amphibians - tadpoles - emerge from small eggs. At first, they live in water and breathe with gills, like fish. When tadpoles grow up, they begin to breathe through their lungs.
All amphibians are predators that feed on various insects and mollusks.
Amphibians are cold-blooded animals because their body temperature directly depends on weather conditions.

Reptiles

Such animals include lizards, snakes, turtles, crocodiles. Their main feature is shortened legs or their complete absence. They crawl on the ground like “reptiles.”

This is how they got their name; they are also called reptiles.

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Most of them live on land, but some representatives spend a lot of time in the water, for example, turtles and crocodiles.

Baby reptiles emerge like birds from eggs.

Among the reptiles there are real giants. The largest boa constrictor is the anaconda, which lives in the tropics of South America. Its length exceeds 5 meters, and the snake itself is so strong that it can win a fight with a young crocodile.

Rice. 1. Anaconda.

Fish

These are the most skilled swimmers that nature has created. Fish's natural habitat is water, and their body is ideal for swimming. It is elongated, streamlined, with dense scales. For deft maneuvers in the water, fish have fins and a tail.

All fish breathe through gills, absorbing oxygen dissolved in the water. They lay their offspring in the form of eggs, from which tiny fish - fry - emerge. Fish are also cold-blooded animals.

Insects

They are the largest and most incredibly diverse group of animals. They live everywhere: in the air, in the water, on the ground. These are butterflies, dragonflies, grasshoppers, beetles, mosquitoes, fleas.

Rice. 2. Butterflies.

Distinctive features of insects:

The body consists of three parts: head, chest and abdomen.
All insects have three pairs of legs.
The body is protected by a chitinous shell.
Insects breathe using tracheas.

Offspring emerge from eggs. These are larvae that turn into pupae, and only then into adult insects.

Insects are invertebrate, cold-blooded animals.

Birds

These are the most common inhabitants of the globe who manage to live and raise offspring in the harshest conditions.

Features of birds include:

Birds' nose and mouth are combined into a beak - with its help they eat, get food, attack, defend themselves, dig, and build nests. Only birds have a beak.
Birds have only one pair of legs.
All birds have only two wings - with their help they rise into the sky and fly.
The entire body is covered with feathers of different lengths, which protect against temperature fluctuations and damage.
Birds breathe with their lungs.

There is a bird in nature that has wings, but it cannot fly at all. This is an ostrich - the tallest and largest representative of birds. It is too heavy to fly, and its short wings cannot lift it skyward. However, the ostrich has very strong long legs and a powerful beak, with which it can crush the skull of any enemy.

Rice. 3. Ostrich.

Birds are warm-blooded animals. This means that their body temperature is not affected by weather conditions. Birds produce offspring from eggs.

Mammals

These representatives of the fauna differ from other animals in that they feed their young with milk - hence the name “mammals”.

How else do animals differ? Their features include:

Presence of hair on the body. The colder the climate, the thicker and warmer the animals' fur, and vice versa. For example, an elephant has practically no hair.
Locomotion on four legs. However, there are animals that move differently, for example, a jumping kangaroo.
Animals give birth to live young.
They breathe with their lungs.

All mammals are warm-blooded animals that can live anywhere: on the ground and underground, in trees and even in the water column.

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WORLD OF ANIMALS, pp. 58-61

1. Write the names of the groups of animals listed.

Frog, toad, newt are amphibians.
An earthworm and a leech are worms.
Snail, slug, octopus, squid are mollusks.
Crayfish, crab, and shrimp are crustaceans.
Starfish, sea urchin, sea lily are echinoderms.
Spider, scorpion, haymaker are arachnids.
lizard, snake, crocodile, turtle are reptiles.

2. Identify the animals. Write the names of the animals and the groups they belong to.

On page 58 from left to right: amber snail (mollusk), goldfinch (birds), hay spider (arachnids).

On page 59 from left to right in the top row: otter (animals), king crab (crustaceans), rhinoceros beetle (insects).

On page 59 from left to right in the bottom row: burbot (fish), tree frog (amphibians), grass snake (reptiles).

4. Cut out details from the application and build development models.

Models of development of fish, frogs, birds.

5. Come up with and write down 2-3 questions for the quiz “In the Animal World.”

How many days will it take for the chicken to hatch from the egg?
How is a frog different from a toad?
Does a hare feed her babies milk?

6. Using the book "Green Pages", prepare a message about one of the animal species of any group.

PINK SALMON. Pink salmon are fish that usually live in the sea, but lay their eggs in rivers. The length of pink salmon reaches 50 cm. Pink salmon feeds on small fish and crustaceans. During spawning, pink salmon change color, and males develop a large hump on their back. Hence the name of the fish. Pink salmon is a valuable fish that needs protection and conservation.

What types of animals are there?

Among the animals there are insects, fish and birds.
Insects- animals with six legs (three pairs).
Fish- aquatic animals whose body is covered with scales.
Birds- animals whose body is covered with feathers.
Animals (mammals)- animals whose body is covered with hair and which feed their young with milk.

To a special group of animals - amphibians- include frogs and toads. To another group - reptiles- belong to snakes, lizards, turtles, crocodiles.

Use pencils of different colors (of your choice) to highlight the names of animals from different groups. Perch, bumblebee, bullfinch, catfish, giraffe, ant, hedgehog, owl.

In the frame, decipher the symbols, that is, show what color each group of animals is indicated by.

Insects

Fish

Birds

Animals

Use schematic drawings to depict the main features:

Explain your drawings.
The main characteristics of insects are six legs, fish - scales, birds - feathers, animals - wool.

Give examples of animals (at least three in each group). To select examples, use the atlas-identifier “From Earth to Sky.”

a) Insects: May beetle, ground beetle, dung beetle, wasp, bumblebee, bee, admiral butterfly, mourning bird, blueberry
b) Birds: magpie, nutcracker, jay, sparrow, stork, pigeon, thrush, starling, eagle, cuckoo, cockatoo, canary, wagtail
c) Animals: roe deer, wild boar, chipmunk, vole, dormouse, wood mouse, marmot, gopher, wolf, leopard, hare, fox

Nadya really liked her mom’s assignment about plants. And she came up with something similar for you, but about animals. The names of four groups of animals are hidden here. Find them and color the squares with letters with pencils of different colors.

Compare the sizes of the animals shown in the picture. In the red squares, number the animals in order of increasing size. Number the blue squares in order of decreasing size. Ask your deskmate to check on you.

Indicate with arrows which groups these animals belong to.

In the book "Green Pages" read the story "Similar, but different." Find out how a frog and a toad are similar and different. Write it down.

Comparison of frog and toad

Similarities:

frogs and toads are amphibians, i.e. live on land and water
both swim beautifully
spawn in the water
horizontal pupil of the eye

Differences:

Frogs have moist skin, while toads usually have dry and warty skin.
toads walk, and frogs jump, pushing off with their strong hind legs
The toad's hunting object is insects crawling and running on the ground, while the frog's prey is mainly flying insects. Because of this, the toad's head is tilted closer to the ground, while that of frogs is raised up
The toad has no teeth; the frog has small teeth on the upper jaw.
the frog lives near water bodies, and the toad lives far from water bodies. They live in the forest and come to the water only to have offspring.
The frog is diurnal, and the toad hunts at night.
The appearance of the caviar is different: in the frog it is in the form of lumps, and in the toad it is in the form of cords.