Animal By Dictionary Definition

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Is a living organism that feeds on organic matter, typically having specialized sense organs and nervous system and able to respond rapidly to stimuli. The Animal Kingdom could quite possibly be the most diverse, and different set of species on our Earth. However, even with all of these differences, there are characteristics that every animal shares. All animals are multicellular, eukaryotic heterotrophs, this means that they have multiple cells with mitochondria and they rely on other organisms for their nourishment. All adult animals develop from embryos, which are small masses of unspecialized cells.

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All animals have specialized tissue, their what seem to be “plain cells” diversify in later life, into four groups.

These groups are nervous tissues, connective tissues, muscle tissues, and epithelial tissues. All animals have the ability to sexually reproduce. Whether it be hindered by unseen circumstances, all animals share the same ability to move, and have limbs that help accomplish that goal. All animals are heterotrophs, which means they have the ability to ingest food.

As the last trait, all animals have an advanced nervous system, allowing them to think and feel, in a similar way to humans. The class/phylum that will be discussed in this paper are mammals. This class shares general characteristics with other classes. Some of these shared characteristics involve having a diaphragm to help expand and contract the animals lungs.

However in addition to these, this class also has special characteristics that not everything else shares. For one, mammals can usually be referred to as “warm blooded animals” as they are the only type of animal that can be and is warm blooded.

Second, unlike a mass majority of animals, mammals don’t need to and won’t lay eggs for their young to come out of. Instead they are birthed into the world directly from the animal. Mammals will have hair and fur covering their body in place of things like scales or feathers. The last mammal specific trait is the allowing and owning of a four chambered heart. All vertebrates will have a heart, however only mammals and birds possess four-chambered hearts, which are more efficient than the two-chambered hearts of fish or the three-chambered hearts of amphibians and reptiles.

There are three main groups that make up the mammal phylum. These groups are, the Monotremes, the Marsupials, and the Placental mammals. Monotremes are a group that was once much more successful, but today have almost completely died out. Monotremes are the only group to lay eggs rather than nurture their young directly, although they are warm-blooded, provide milk for their young, have a single bone in their lower jaw, and are covered in a layer of fur. Monotremes keep their body temperature at about 90°F. Marsupials are a mildly successful group that includes 334 species. This group can be found everywhere around the globe. However, most of these species can be found in Australia.

Australia and the nearby islands include over 200 marsupial species, ranging from the familiar koala and kangaroo to the more unusual bandicoots and Tasmanian Devils. Marsupials are different from the other groups in their mode of reproduction, the presence of a cloaca, and their metabolic rate. The final group are the Placental mammals. This is the most successful group on the planet today. They boast over 5,500 species. There are four primary groups: Rodentia (mice, rats, and other small animals with fast-growing teeth), Chiroptera (bats), Carnivora (dogs, cats, bears, and other carnivores), and Cetartiodactyla (numerous herbivore species, such as deer, sheep, goats, buffalos, and whales). Placental mammals are found on every continent except Antarctica.

They are distinguished by a high metabolic rate and their reproductive mode, this being the same reproductive mode as humans, where the baby is completely grown inside the womb before being born. This means that humans are also a part of this group. This group is said to be the most intelligent group of animals that are on the planet. The wolf species is in the mammal phylum/class. They fit all of the categories that are needed of them to fit into such a class. Without the mammal classifications though, wolves have plenty of defining features on their own. One of these main features is that wolves are very pack oriented, they tend to live, walk, run, and hunt as a pack. These wolf packs act in very similar ways, to what we would call gangs.

These packs contain hierarchy too. Alpha wolves that run the whole show, then the Beta pair of wolves, and finally all of the “lower classed” workers who do all of the hunting. The Great Blue Whale is about the largest mammal you are going to be able to find in both land and sea. This whale can grow up to more than eighty feet. The Great Blue Whale has a ton of interesting facts, an example is that its humongous tongue can weigh up to seven tons. Their heart weighs around 600kg, and despite their large size, blue whales can reach speeds of up to 50km / h when they are threatened. Although their large size, speed, and weight may be frightening, whales show no real threat.

Unfortunately, just like many marine animals, we are swiftly losing our whale population due to things like, entanglement in fishing gear, climate change, ship strikes, toxic contamination, oil and gas development, and habitat degradation. Increasing threat of climate change. Mammals always play a vital role for whichever ecosystem they live in. Mammals are typically important for maintaining services and functions associated with sustaining a balanced ecosystem, these functions include playing a part in either being the prey or the predator. They either equal out the ecosystem, by limiting the population of other species, or by being limited or hunted down, by other species, and in turn fueling those animals.