2. About the Animalia Kingdom
The Animalia Kingdom is a diverse group of organism which some members of
this kingdom seem like they would fit in elsewhere, like sponges or coral. The
Animalia Kingdom is the largest of all kingdoms with more than one million
species.
3. Characteristics of Animalia Kingdom
They are …
-Multicellular which means that they are made up of more than one cell. Some members of other
kingdoms are just made up of one cell, like bacteria or amoeba.
-Heterotrophic, which means they have to get their own food. Plants are autotrophic because they
make their own food through photosynthesis. Because they cannot make their own food, members of
the Animalia Kingdom must ingest, or eat, other organisms.
-Eukaryotes: this is the type of cells animals have. Eukaryote cells are more complex than the simpler
prokaryote cells found in bacteria.
( Source : http://study.com/academy/lesson/animalia-kingdom-definition-characteristics-facts.html )
4. Invertebrates
There are millions of animal species in the world and more than 98% are invertebrates. Invertebrates
basically means that they do not have an internal skeleton made of bone. Many invertebrates have a
fluid-filled, hydrostatic skeleton, like the jelly fish or worm. The term invertebrates is a prefixed form of
a Latin derived word 'Vertebra'. 'Vertebra' means joint in general, specifically it means 'the joint of the
spinal column of the vertebrate'. It is coupled with the prefix "in" meaning not or without, which
conveys the meaning 'those that lack veterbrae'. Invertebrates are the most diverse group having
about 12 million live species. Most of the animals on earth are invertebrates. They are cold-blooded
animals; their body temperature depends on the temperature of the atmosphere
5. Characteristic of Invertebrates
● Invertebrates is absent of the spinal column and backbone.
● They usually have fluid-filled, hydrostatic skeleton
● Due to the lack of spinal backbone, some invertebrates tend to be slow and small in nature.
● Due to the lack of the backbone and complex nervous system the invertebrates cannot live in different environments,
though they are found in the harshest of the environments.
● Invertebrates live all over the world in various habitats.
● Body is divided into three parts - head, body and the abdomen.
● They do not have lungs for respiration.
● Respiration is through skin.
● Most of them have tissues, that are specific organization of cells.
● Most of them reproduce sexually by the fusion of the male and female gametes.
● Few invertebrates like the sponges are sedentary, but most of the organisms are motile.
● Most invertebrates are organized with symmetric body organization.
6. Examples of Invertebrates
● All of the insects
● crabs
● lobsters
● snails
● clams
● octopuses
● starfish
● sea-urchins
(and all of those in the picture)
7. Vertebrates
1. Vertebrates are animals that are any species of animals within the
subphylum Vertebrata /-ɑː/. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming
majority of the phylum Chordata, with currently about 64,000 species
described.It is also an animal of a large group distinguished by the
possession of a backbone or spinal column, including mammals, birds,
reptiles, amphibians, and fishes.
8. Characteristic of Vertebrates
● Vertebrates have a well developed brain.
● Brain is set inside a cranium.
● Notochord is present in all chordates during sometime of development, it is formed on the dorsal side of the primitive gut in the
early embryo stage.
● They possess a dorsal hollow nerve tube at some stage of their life.
● Possess a dorsal cartilaginous nerve rod known as the notochord.
● Possess two pairs of appendages.
● The endoskeleton is made of cartilage or bone.
● The advancement of vertebrates with a hinged jaw which opened new food options and jawed fishes became the dominant
creatures in the sea.
● All vertebrates have a heart and closed circulatory system.
● Reproduction is normally sexual.
● Feed on variety of organic materials.
● Unisexual animals, have one pair of gonads.
