WHAT IS AN ANIMAL?

In a simpler definition, an animal is a living creature who has the ability to move, eat, with specialized​ sense organs and sexual reproduction.

Animals are classified into 2 main groups, VERTEBRATES and INVERTEBRATES. Today, I will explain what vertebrate is and the classes of animals belong to this group.

Vertebrate animals have backbones or spine. Try reaching those bumps in the center of your back. Do you feel it? That bumps are bones called vertebrae (say ver-tu-bray)that makes up your spine. It supports the structure of the body. We have 5 classes of vertebrates inhabit our planet Earth.

Trivia: To remember these classes of vertebrates easily, let's call this MR FAB (Mister Fab) for Mammals, Reptiles, Fishes, Amphibians and Birds.

    Mammal gives birth to young animals and have mammary glands which produces milk to feed their young. They are warm-blooded​ animals that help​ regulate their own body temperature in order to survive in​ every climate here on earth. They also​ have hair or fur on their bodies.

    Gorillas are the largest living primate. They communicate using gestures, sounds and by slapping their chests. Some gorillas in captivity are taught to communicate using sign language. The best example for this is Koko. Koko is a female gorilla who can "talk" using hand signs. She is also famous for her love of kittens.

    Reptiles have scales, not fur. They usually lay eggs sometimes live young. They are cold-bloodied animals which means they cannot regulate their own body heat.

    Chameleons are reptile. They feed mostly on large insects like grasshoppers and crickets. The distinctive feature of chameleons is they can change color for camouflage but some shows darker colors when angry. Males do change into lighter colors to get the female's attention.

    Check out this cool video of chameleon.

    Fishes have gills present from the the time they are born and use this to breathe in the water. They use their fins and tails for swimming and mostly are covered with scales. They lay eggs and also cold-blooded animals.

    Seahorses pair for life and the male self-fertilizes the eggs that the female seahorse deposits when they mate. Male seahorses are the only known animal who get pregnant and have babies. Check this male seahorse while giving birth.

Amphibians derive from the word amphibious which means "both kinds of life". Animal under this category can live on land and in water. Example of amphibian is the FROG. The frog​ begins its early stage of life in water. Amphibians lay eggs. Tadpoles have tails and gills to allow them to breathe and swim in water. As they grow, they develop limbs, lungs and reabsorb the tail. Amphibians are cold-blooded animals. They become hotter or colder depending on the temperature.

Check this life cycle of a frog video.

Birds have feathers and wings. They fly or glide using its wings and lay eggs. Most birds make nests for their eggs but some just lay in a simple scrape on the ground. Mama bird feeds their young using its beak with insects and worms. They are warm-blooded animals which means they maintain a constant body temperature regardless of the temperature.

Do you know chickens are birds? They have feathers, lay eggs on a nest or in the ground, glide from the rooftops using its wings.

These are the classes of vertebrates. I am going to share the second classification of animals on my next post for THE INVERTEBRATES.

Information Sources
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Video Sources
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Image Source
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Thank you for reading.