Classification

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 A species is an organism that
can breed with another similar Classification
individual to produce fertile
offspring.
There are millions of species
on the planet and there can be
enormous variety within each Click on black box above if film clip
species. doesnt play after a short delay

Scientists describe and then

place each living thing they
find into a group. This is called
classification.
 Classification

The process of naming and then

grouping organisms is called
CLASSIFICATION.
The system we use today was
started by Linnaeus in the
eighteenth century. Click on black box above if film clip
doesnt play after a short delay
It uses Latin names and has
many groupings (starting with
kingdoms) that get more and
more refined until you have just The animal in the film clip is
one species. called the Tasmanian wolf or
Thylacine which became extinct
The Latin name for the human less than 100 years ago due to
species is Homo sapiens. The hunting.
human species probably
originated in Eastern Africa.
The five kingdom system

The kingdoms are the largest groupings used for

classification:
Animals: includes vertebrates (they have
backbones) such as mammals, birds, reptiles,
amphibians and fish and invertebrates (no
backbone) such as arthropods (insects, spiders,
crabs), molluscs, worms, jellyfish and sponges.
Plants: includes flowering plants, trees and
grasses, pines, ferns, horsetails, mosses and
liverworts.
Fungi: includes mushrooms, toadstools, moulds
and yeasts.
Protoctists: amoeba and microscopic species
that dont fit into the other groups elsewhere.
Prokaryotes: bacteria and blue-green algae.
 Animal Groups
The animal kingdom is split into two main groups:

VERTEBRATES (backbone) INVERTEBRATES (no backbone)

Arthropods Click here to

Mammals Click here to
see film clip
see film clip

Molluscs Click here to

see film clip
Birds Click here to
see film clip
Echinoderms Click here to
see film clip Click here to
Reptiles Click here to try a
see film clip Annelids Click here to
see film clip classification
key activity
Amphibians Click here to
Cnidarians
see film clip (Coelenterates) Click here to
see film clip OR
Fish Click here to Flatworms Click here to Click here to
see film clip (Platyhelminthes) see more info
go to the quiz
 Mammals
Mammals usually have the
following characteristics:

The word mammal comes

from mammary glands
which means they feed
milk to their young.
Click on black box above if film clip
doesnt play after a short delay
Usually have hair or fur.

They are warm blooded

and have lungs.

Although very rare in

mammals, a few, such as Click here to
the platypus and the go back to
echidna lay eggs! the animal
groups page
 Birds
Birds have the following
characteristics:
Feathers covering their
bodies.
Wings (although not all
can fly) and a bill or a Click on black box above if film clip
doesnt play after a short delay
beak.
They are warm blooded
and have lungs.
They lay hard shelled
eggs.

Click here to
go back to
the animal
groups page
 Reptiles
Reptiles have some of the
following characteristics:
Cold blooded (excluding
the leatherback turtle which
is thought to partly
maintain its own heat).
Click on black box above if film clip
They usually lay leathery doesnt play after a short delay
shelled eggs.
Scaly dry skins which are
regularly shed.

Click here to
go back to
the animal
groups page
 Amphibians
Amphibians have the
following characteristics:
They usually lay their jelly
covered eggs in water but
often live on land.
They are cold blooded Click on black box above if film clip
doesnt play after a short delay
and have a moist skin.
The offspring have gills in
their early stages but then
develop lungs.

Click here to
go back to
the animal
groups page
 Fish
There are two main
groupings of fish:
Those with skeletons
made of cartilage (the
same as the spongy
material your ears are Click on black box above if film clip
made from) and those with doesnt play after a short delay
bony skeletons.
They are all cold blooded
and have scales.
They usually live in water,
lay their eggs in water and
have gills. Click here to
go back to
the animal
groups page
 Arthropods have an
Arthropods
external skeleton (that is
moulted as the individual
grows) with jointed limbs and
a segmented body.
More species that are
arthropods have been
described than any other Click on black box above if film clip
type of animal. doesnt play after a short delay

The arthropods include the

insects (3 pairs of legs),
spiders/scorpions (4 pairs of
legs), crabs and lobsters
(crustaceans - 4 pairs of legs
and a pair of claws), Click here to
Centipedes and millipedes go back to
(many pairs of legs). the animal
groups page
 This diverse group
Molluscs
includes squid, octopuses,
cuttlefish, snails, mussels,
abalone, oysters and clams.
The squid, cuttlefish and
octopuses are thought to be
the most intelligent of all the
invertebrates and can alter Click on black box above if film clip
doesnt play after a short delay
the pigments in their skin to
communicate with each
other.
Molluscs generally have a
soft body and one or two
(called bivalve) shells.
Click here to
The colossal squid is the
go back to
largest known invertebrate
the animal
at up to 14 metres long.
groups page
 Echinoderms
The echinoderms include
sea urchins, starfish and
sea cucumbers.

Their bodies are split into

five parts and have a
Click on black box above if film clip
central mouth but no brain. doesnt play after a short delay

Most echinoderms have

regeneration abilities, so
for example, if a small part
(such as the arm of a
starfish) is eaten by a Click here to
predator they can re-grow go back to
that part. the animal
groups page
 Annelids

This group consists of the

segmented worms such as
earthworms, lugworms and
leeches.
The largest annelids are
up to 3 metres in length but Click on black box above if film clip
doesnt play after a short delay
most are under 30
centimetres.
Some annelids have both
male and female sexual
parts (i.e. they are
hermaphrodites).
Click here to
go back to
the animal
groups page
 This group includes the
Cnidarians
(Coelenterates)
corals, jellyfish and sea
anemones.
They are often
symmetrical in shape in
one direction.
Most have stinging cells
in their tentacles for Click on black box above if film clip
doesnt play after a short delay
defence and attack.
They take in food and
expel waste through the
same opening.
Corals have a special
relationship with algae Click here to
where both benefit (called go back to
mutualism). the animal
groups page
 Flatworms
(Platyhelminthes)
The flatworms are, as
their name suggests,
thin, flattened worms.
They include flukes and
tapeworms which are
usually parasitic and can
grow up to 30 metres in
length inside the host
animals which can
include humans.
They are soft bodied
and have only one
opening for food and Click here to
waste. go back to
the animal
groups page
Activity: Watch the film clip
Classification quiz
first then place the groups
below in the correct order
so that they match up with
the film clip

Invertebrate animal Click once on area above to

play film clip when you are
Bird ready

Mammal
Reptile
Amphibian
Fish Click here
for the
Not an animal correct
answers
 Classification quiz
The correct answers are
below:

1. Mammal (Humpback
whale feeding its calf
milk)
2. Amphibian (Golden toad)
3. Bird (Wandering albatross
landing)
4. Not an animal (Fly agaric)
Fungi
5. Fish (Weedy sea dragon)
6. Reptile (American
crocodile)
7. Invertebrate (Alderfly-
insect)