Classification of animals

Animals are classified in a variety of ways. This helps scientists to study the
relationships in animal groups and to see the whole animal family tree as it has
developed through time. The study of animal classification is called taxonomy.
The basic unit of an animal is the cell. A cell is the smallest unit of any animal or
plant. Some animals are one celled, some consist of millions of cells. Each cell is
filled with a living matter called protoplasm. It also has a nucleus that is the
center of the cell and directs its activities. The cytoplasm is the area outside of
the nucleus. Each cell is held together by a cell membrane which is like a very
thin skin for the cell. Many cells have different jobs to do in an animal, whether
they be bone, blood, skin cells.
A group of the same kinds of cells are called tissues. A group of tissues that work
together to do a job in the animal's body is an organ. The stomach, heart,
kidneys, lungs are examples of organs. A group of organs that do a number of
jobs of the same kind are systems.
Animals are grouped together or classified in a variety of ways. Some of them
are:
Whether an animals in one celled or many celled.
How an animal's bodily systems differ.

There are many different types of animals in the world. Many animals are
quite similar to each other. Others are quite different. Animals can be
classified based on their similarities. Continue on, and learn more about your
fellow Earth inhabitants.

Invertebrates

Vertebrates

Animals
without a Backbone
or Spinal Column:

Animals
with a Backbone
or Spinal Column:
(All these animals are in the phyla Chordata and the
subphyla Vertebrata.)

Protozoa
(phyla: protozoa)

Fish
(group: Pisces)

Echinoderms
such as starfish
(phyla: Echinodermata)

Amphibians
such as frogs
(class: Amphibia)

Annelids
such as earthworms
(phyla: Annelida)

Reptiles
such as crocodiles
(class: Reptilia)

Mollusks
such as octopus
(phyla: Mollusca)

Birds
(class: Aves)

Arthropods
such as crabs, spiders and insects
(phyla: Arthropoda)

Mammals
(class: Mammalia)

Crustaceans
such as crabs
(subphyla: Crustacea)

Marsupials
such as kangaroos
(order: Marsupialia)

Arachnids
such as spiders
(subphyla: Chelicerata
class: Arachnida)

Primates
such as gorillas and chimpanzees
(order: Primates)

Insects
(subphyla: Uniramia
class: Insecta)

Rodents
such as mice
(order: Rodentia)
Cetaceans
such as whales and dolphins
( order: Cetacea)
Animals such as seals
(order: Carnivora
family: Phocidae)

Herbivore

A herbivore is an animal that gets its energy from eating plants, and only plants. Omnivores can
also eat parts of plants, but generally only the fruits and vegetables produced by fruit-bearing
plants. Many herbivores have special digestive systems that let them digest all kinds of plants,
including grasses.
Herbivores need a lot of energy to stay alive. Many of them, like cows and sheep, eat all day
long. There should be a lot of plants in your ecosystem to support your herbivores. If you put
carnivores or some omnivores in your ecosystem, they'll eat your herbivores, so make sure you
have enough herbivores to support them.

Large Herbivores

Medium-sized Herbivores

Small Herbivores

Herbivore Pollinator

Herbivore Scavenger

What is a herbivore?

Herbivores are at the second level of the food chain and mainly eat plants.
Herbivores are considered primary consumers and are the first consumers
on the food chain. Herbivores dont always eat the same things. Herbivores
like squirrels eat grass and small plants near the ground and are called
grazers. Herbivores that eat leaves, shoots, and twigs are called browsers.
Very large animals like elephants, rhinos, and moose are grazers and
browsers.

[Squirrel]

[Elephant]

It is hard for some herbivores to digest plants so they eat a lot of them in
order to get the nutrients they need. Animals that eat grass have ridges in
their teeth in order to help them chew food into smaller pieces so they can
digest it easier.

[Giraffe]

Herbivores, many times, have bodies that help them get the food that they
need. Giraffes have long necks because they need them to reach the the
tops of acacia trees so they can get food.

[Caterpillar]

Some herbivores eat all of a plant but others only eat certain parts, like
seeds, fruits, or flowers. Caterpillars are one type of herbivore that only eats
part of a plant, they only eat the leaves.

[Deer]

Herbivores have bodies that help them in getting their food. Animals like
deer can bend down easily so that they can eat grass.

[Sheep]

[Cow]

Herbivores sometimes have to re-chew their food in order to break it down

enough for their body to absorb the energy they need. The food they ate
comes back up into their mouth after it was already in their stomach for
awhile and they re-chew it, this food is called cud. Animals like sheep, cows
and deer are examples of herbivores that chew their food twice.
Herbivores in other Ecosystems
Herbivores in the Desert
In the desert there are many smaller animals that eat only plants. There are
many species of small rodents in the desert; some of these animals are
kangaroo rats and mice. These small animals eat mainly seeds.

[Mouse]

[Kangaroo Rat]

[Seeds]

The desert tortoise has a hard shell to keep itself safe while it searches for
food in the hot desert, some of the things these turtles eat are, grasses and
cactus fruits.

[Desert Tortoise]

[Cactus Fruit]

The sand grouse is a bird in the desert; they are camouflaged and search the
ground for seeds.

[Sand Grouse]

Though there are many small desert herbivores, there are also some large
desert herbivores as well. The camel is one example of a large desert
herbivore; they eat coarse grass and thorny shrubs. If camels cant find the
producers they need for food they can also use the food stored in their
humps.

[Camel]

Herbivores in the Water

[Water snails]

[Shrimp]

[Crab]

In underwater ecosystems there are many different herbivores. The

herbivores in these ecosystems mainly eat algae and phytoplankton. These
herbivores are called zooplankton which means wandering animals. Some
of the animals that are considered zooplankton are newly hatched shrimp,
crabs, fish, sea worms, and water snails.
Herbivores in the forest
In the forest there are many different kinds of herbivores some eat parts of
plants, some eat all of plants, some eat seeds, and some eat nectar.

[Bee]

[Birds]

[Butterfly]

Bird, bees, and butterflies eat nectar from flowers to get the nutrients they
need to survive. Small animals in the forest called rodents eat the seeds of
plants and insects eat the leaves of plants.

[Rabbit]

[Squirrel]

Rabbits and squirrels eat whatever kind of plant food they can find on the
forest floor.
Herbivores in the Arctic
The Arctic is very cold and includes both land and water animals. In the arctic
waters there are zooplankton but on land there are many other herbivores.
Some arctic land herbivores include lemmings, arctic hares, musk ox,
caribou, and ptarmigan. Most of these animals eat plant leaves, grasses, and
herbs.

[Arctic Hare]

[Ptarmigan]

[Caribou]

Are you an herbivore?

There are people in our society that eat mainly plants and dont eat meat, we
call these people vegetarians. Vegetarians are more like herbivores than
any other kind of consumer because they eat mostly fruits and vegetables
which are plants.

[Fruits and Vegetables]

Carnivores
Animals that feed only on meat are called carnivores. They hunt and eat the flesh of other
animals. Some animals consume their prey whole; bones included. They have extremely sharp
teeth, helping them tear skin and flesh and to rip through bones. Also, carnivores generally have
sharp claws or talons which enable them to get a good grip of their prey when attacking and
eating.
A carnivore is an animal that gets food from killing and eating other animals.
Carnivores generally eat herbivores, but can eat omnivores, and occasionally other carnivores.
Animals that eat other animals, like carnivores and omnivores are important to any ecosystem,
because they keep other species from getting overpopulated.
Since carnivores have to hunt down and kill other animals they require a large amount of
calories. This means that they have to eat many other animals over the course of the year. The
bigger the carnivore, the more it has to eat. You should make sure that you have many more
herbivores and omnivores than carnivores.
You have several kinds of carnivores to choose from in this simulation, of different sizes:

Large Carnivores

Medium Carnivores

Small Carnivores

Carnivores (Carnivora) are a group of mammals that consists of about 250 species. Carnivores include dogs,
wolves, foxes, coyotes, bears, racoons, mustelids, sea lions, fur seals, civits, hyenas, aardwolves, wolverines and
cats.
Carnivores are well-suited to a hunting lifestyle. Most members of the Carnivora are swift runners, they posess
sharp teeth, superb eyesight, a well-developed sense of smell, sharp claws, and a set of specialized teeth known as
carnassials. Carnassials consist of two pairs of teeth: an upper premolar and lower molar on each side of the mouth
that are sharpened in such a way that they are superb for cutting through flesh. Carnassials are well-developed in
cats and dogs. Bears have carnassials as well but they are not as refined as those of cats and dogs.

Not all members of the Carnivora are exclusively meat-eaters. Foxes, coyotes and bears supplement their meat
intake with plant material. Giant pandas eat no meat at all and survive on a diet that consists exclusively of plants.
Meat-eating carnivores catch animal prey of various sizes including insects, invertebrates and vertebrates. Carrion
feeders such as the hyena occasionally feed on prey killed by other animals. Foxes and coyotes also feed on carrion
from time to time.
Classification:
Carnivores are a group of mammals that is divided into about 11 subgroups. Those subgroups include canids, cats,
mongooses, hyenas and ardwolves, mustelids, walruses, sea lions, seals, raccoons and their relatives, bears, and
civets.
Evolution:
Carnivores first appeared during the Cenozoic, after the decline of the dinosaurs. The earliest carnivores were
weasel-like creatures. During the Palaeocene, the Carnivora diverged into two separate groupsa cat-like lineage
and a dog-like lineage. The cat-like lineage gave rise to modern cats, civets, mongooses, and hyaenas. The doglike lineage gave rise to modern dogs, bears, seals, sea lions, walruses, racoons, weasels, otters, badgers and

An omnivore is a kind of animal that eats either other animals or plants. Some omnivores will
hunt and eat their food, like carnivores, eating herbivores and other omnivores. Some others are
scavengers and will eat dead matter. Many will eat eggs from other animals.
Omnivores eat plants, but not all kinds of plants. Unlike herbivores, omnivores can't digest some
of the substances in grains or other plants that do not produce fruit. They can eat fruits and
vegetables, though. Some of the insect omnivores in this simulation are pollinators, which are
very important to the life cycle of some kinds of plants.
You have several kinds of omnivores to choose from in this simulation, of different sizes:

Large Omnivores

Medium-sized Omnivores

Small Omnivores

Carnivore

Herbivore

Strong Pointed Incisors

Enlarged Canine teeth for

catching prey

Sharp Molar teeth used for

shearing the meat from the
bone.

Well-Developed Temporalis
Muscle

Teeth

Chewing Muscles

Saliva

Stomach

Intestine Length
Digestion

Large, Mostly flat Teeth for

Grinding

Mostly Flat incisors and

Canine teeth

Well-Developed Masseter
Muscle

Alkaline (opposite of acidic)

Saliva

Carbohydrate digestion starts

here!

PH = 4-5 (Moderately Acidic)

10+ times the body length

No Digestive Enzymes.

PH = 1 (Very Acidic)

5-6 times the body length

Primarily in the Stomach

Primarily in the colon.

What about omnivores you ask? Good Question! They are usually in-between with many
characteristics that allow them to eat and digest meat.
There is just a little information here on this blog but there is an abundance of further reading
out there if youre interested. Information supporting a plant based diet, a raw plant based diet,
and the list goes on and on for the variations. I will keep updating as I learn more. As for now
I know that my body was not meant for the consumption of meat.
So, honestly, its with a heavy heart that I have decided not to eat animal products. What do you
think about this?