Larisa+Lopez

Larisa's Final Project

Animal Kingdom 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. They are all classified in there kingdom. For example Invertebrates are animals with out backbones or spinal column, and Vertebrates are animals with backbones or spinal column. All these animals are in the phyla chordata and the subphyla vertebrata.

Plant Kingdom Plants provide nourishment for our bodies and souls. With the help of protists and fungi, plants provide the oxygen we breathe and the food that sustains us. Either directly or indirectly, by feeding other animals. Plants provide shade over our heads and cool carpets under our feet while surrounding us with beautiful colors and marking that change of seasons. Prominent plants give us a handle on ecological communities. Classification of the plant kingdom can be especially confusing to the amateur naturalist.

Mollusks The body of a mollusk is generally composed of the shell and the fleshy, living part. The fleshy parts of a mollusk can be further divided into the foot and the visceral mass. Most taxonomists now recognize eight classes of mollusks, based mainly on differences in the foot and making it easy to identify on sight the class to which a mollusk belongs. Mollusks are important to humans as well as other animals as food. Some shells are a major source of calcium for some birds. The consumption of mollusks goes back centuries. Indeed, humans found a way to use oysters to increase the food supplies.

Arthropod The arthropods constitute over 90% of the animal kingdom and are classified in the phylum Arthropoda. Grasshoppers, Butterflies, Beetles, Ants, Etc. 1,000,000 is classified as Insects for Arthropod they are everywhere and are the largest animal phylum- about 85% of all known animals in the world are part of this class. The easiest way to tell an arthropod from any other animal is to see if they have a segmented body, many jointed legs or limbs, an exoskeleton and is cold blooded.

Echinoderms Are radially symmetrical animals that are only found in the sea. There name means "spiny skin" in Greek. Many don't but all of them do. There are over 6,000 species. There are two sub-types of sea stars. Asteroideas (are the true sea stars and sun stars) and also Ophiuroideas ( are brittle stars and basket stars). They have hundreds of tiny feet on the bottom of each ray. These are tube feet, or podia. These tiny feet can be filled with sea water. The vascular system of the sea star is also filled with sea water. By moving water from the vascular system into the tiny fee, the sea star can make a foot move by expanding it.

 Aves  Birds (Aves) are a diverse group of vertebrates that evolved from reptiles during the Mesazoic Era about 150 million years ago. Today, an estimated 300 billion birds belonging to more than 9000 species inhabit virtually every terrestrial habitat on the planet. There are even many species of birds that are at home in the water as skilled swimmers and divers. They also have fused bones in pelvis, feet, hands, and head. There bones are lightweight. No teeth or maxillary bones of the jaw.

Work Cites http://www.kidport.com/reflib/science/animals/animals.htm http://www.perspective.com/nature/plantae/index.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mollusca http://insected.arizona.edu/arthroinfo.htm http://www.mbgnet.net/salt/animals/echinod.htm