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is one of the 5 major
kingdoms of life forms and comprises all multicellular
organisms, where cells are organized into tissues
and obtain energy by ingesting food. Other
characteristics of animals are movement, a well-developed
nervous system and sexual reproduction. |
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There are over one million known species of animals worldwide
and they are placed into 35 phyla. We deal here only with two phyla, which comprises the most visible
animals, arthropoda or non-vertebrates and chordata or the vertebrates.
The rest of the phyla are mostly ocean living organisms. |
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PHYLUM:
Arthropoda (
non-vertebrates )
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3 Sub-Phylums |
| Chelicerata |
spider,
tick, mite, scorpion |
| Crustacea |
crab,
lobster, shrimp |
| Uniramia |
fly,
butterfly, beetle, cricket, ant, locust, centipedes |
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PHYLUM: Chordata
( vertebrates )
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Pisces |
nowadays
3 classes with 21 000 species of fish |
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Amphibia |
3 orders with 4400 species
(frogs, toads, salamanders) |
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Reptilia |
4
orders with 2750 species (crocodiles, snakes, turtles) |
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Aves |
birds
have 27 orders with 10 000 species |
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Mammalia |
3
sub classes with 4800 species |
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Mammal
Vocabulary |
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Niche: place occupied by a species in
its ecosystem |
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Adaptive radiation: evolution of a single species into many
species that ocupy diverse ways of life within the same
geographical range |
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Evolutionary
convergence: the increasing similarity during evolution of two
or more unrelated species
occupation of the
same niche by products of different adaptive radiations |
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People, who are not so much interested in explications but like to see and enjoy
pictures of mammals, should check out the animal.section
of our
Ecuador-Images.net.
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