Classification of Animals Flashcards
(27 cards)
Classify means to _________ animals by their shared characteristics.
group
A vertebrate is _____________________.
an animal with a backbone
Are most animals vertebrates or invertebrates?
invertebrates
Taxonomists believe that all vertebrate animals can be classified into one of _____ groups.
5
The five groups of vertebrates are ______________.
fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals
Fishes’ body temperature _______________ with their surroundings.
changes
Constant means it stays the same ________ of the time.
most
Fish, reptiles, and amphibians are three groups of _____________________ creatures.
cold-blooded
Warm-blooded animals regulate their internal body temperatures and keep them ______________.
constant
An animal’s backbone, or spine, starts near its head and runs all the way down its back to its ___________.
hips
Your spine protects your ________________,
spinal chord
What is the biggest group of invertebrates?
insects
The largest group of vertebrates on Earth is ______.
fish
Do fish have lungs?
no
The breathing organs of fish are called ________.
gills
What helps a fish move through water?
fins
Fish have hard overlapping ____________ that protect them and help them move more easily through the water.
scales
Toads must lay their eggs in ___________ because their soft jelly-like coverings can easily dry out in the air.
water
Morphing means _________________ into very different looking creatures.
changing
What is an important organ in amphibians that must stay wet for them to breathe?
skin
Most reptiles can adjust their body temperature by _____________________.
basking in the sun
What do reptiles use to breathe?
lungs
Reptiles scaly skin protects them from overheating, and because their skin is waterproof, it keeps water _________ their bodies.
inside
Reptiles lay their eggs in ___________ on land.
nests
