Kingdom Animalia
By: Katie Miller
AP Biology 2nd Hr
Phylum Coelenterata
Ex: Sea Anemones

Cnidarians are carnivores that use
their tentacles to capture small
animals and protists and to push
the prey into their mouths. The
mouth leads into a digestive
compartment called the
gastrovascular cavity. The mouth
is the only opening in the body, so
undigested food and other wastes
exit through it. It also circulates
fluid that services internal cells.
Acting as a hydrostatic skeleton,
fluid in the cavity provides body
support and helps give a cnidarian
its shape, much like a balloon.

Cnidarians exhibit two kinds of
body forms: Polyp and the
Medusa. Some Cnidarians pass
sequentially through a polyp stage
and a medusa stage in their life
cycle. Others exist only as on or
the other.
Class Schyphozoa
Ex: Jellyfish

Four oral arms hang from the middle
of a jellyfish’s bell, surrounding its
mouth. Oral arms are also covered
with stinging nematocysts. These
cells contain a hollow, bared thread
that fires on impact or in response to a
chemical cue. Many are toxic, used to
paralyze or kill their prey.


There are separate sexes, male and
female, though these are not easily
distinguished by sight. Reproduction
begins when the male releases sperm
through its mouth into the
surrounding water. These swim to the
female where they enter her central
oval cavity to reach the eggs. Once
fertilized, the zygotes emerge onto the
oral arms to develop for a time,
becoming larvae which settle on the
bottom of the ocean.
Results in polyp that buds and
produces free-swimming medusae.
Class Anthozoa



The stomach cavity is partioned
by longitudinal membranes called
mesenteries.
The edges of the mesenteries
support long mobile filaments.
The mesentery filaments protrude
through the mouth to capture
food.

Reef development is generally
more abundant in areas that are
subject to strong wave action.
Waves carry food, nutrients, and
oxygen to the reef; distribute coral
larvae; and prevent sediment from
setting on the coral reef.
Phylum Porifera
Ex: Sponges

The body of a sponge consists of two
layers of cells separated by a
gelatinous region. The inner layer of
flagellated cells called choanocytes
help to sweep water through the
sponge’s body. Wandering through
the middle body region are
amoebocytes, which produce
skeletinous fibers composed of either
mineral containing particles or a
flexible protein called spongin.

Sponges can reproduce sexually or
asexually. Asexual reproduction is
through internal and external
budding. External budding occurs
when the parent sponge grows on a
bud on the outside of its body. This
will break away or stay connected.
Internal budding occurs when
archaeocytes collect in the mesohyl
and become surrounded by spongin.
In sexual reproduction, sperm are
dispersed by water currents and
enter neighboring sponges. All
sponges of a particular species
release their sperm at approximately
the same time.
Phylum Platyhelminthes
Characteristics:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Bilaterally Symmetrical with a head and a tail.
Centralized nervous system
Three tissue layers.
No body cavity, no circulatory system, and no hard skeleton.
Most contain a gastrovascular cavity (with one hole) (which helps distribute
food throughout the animal).
Class Turbellaria

A Planarian has a head with a pair
of light sensitive eye spots and a
flap at each side that detects
chemicals. Dense clusters of
nerve cells from a simple brain,
and a pair of nerve cords connect
with small nerves that branch
through out the body.

Planarians live on the
undersurfaces of rocks in fresh
water ponds and streams. Using
cilia on their ventral surface, they
crawl about in search of food.
They also have muscles that
enable them to twist and turn.
Class Trematoda

Many Flukes have suckers that
attach to their host and a tough
protective covering. Reproductive
organs occupy nearly the entire
interior of these worms.


Most Flukes have complex life
cycles with an intermediate host
in which larvae develop. The
larvae then infect the final host in
which they also live as adults.
Ex: Blood Flukes – Flukes that
parasitize humans spend part of
their life cycle in snails (causes
Schistosomiasis).
Class Cestoda

Tapeworms have a very long,
ribbon – like body with repeated
units. They also do not have a
digested food in the intestines of
their hosts, they simply absorb
nutrients across their body
surface. The anterior end of the
tapeworm, called scolex, is armed
with the hooks and suckers that
grasp the host.

Tapeworms have complex life
cycles, usually involving more
than one host. Most species
benefit from the predator – prey
relationships of their hosts. Larval
tapeworms develop in their hosts,
and a predator, a coyote or a dog
for instance, becomes infected
when it eats an infected prey
animal. The adult tapeworms
develop in the predator’s
intestines.
Phylum Nematoda

Nematodes have a complete
digestive tract, extracting as a
tube from the mouth to the anus
near the tip of the tail. Food
travels only one way through the
system and is processed as it
moves along. In animals with a
complete digestive tract, the
anterior regions of the tract churn
and mix food with enzymes, while
the posterior regions absorb
nutrients and then dispose of
wastes.

Most nematodes are dioecious.
Fertilization takes place when
males use special copulatory
spines to open the females’
reproductive tracts and inject
sperm into them. The sperm are
unique in that they lack flagellae
and move by pseudopodia, like
amoebas. Development of
fertilized eggs is usually directs.
Leeches
Phylum Annelida
Annelids

Annelids have a closed circulatory
system, in which blood remains
enclosed in vessels as it
distributes nutrients and oxygen
throughout the body. Since all
members of this group are to
some extent segmented, the
circulatory, nervous, and
excretory body systems are
located in each segment.


Annelids range in length from less
than 1mm to 3m, the length of
some giant Australian
earthworms.
They are found in damp soil, in
the sea, and in most fresh water
habitats. Some aquatic annelids
swim in pursuit of food, but most
are bottom-dwelling scavengers
that burrow in sand and mud.
Molluscs
Phylum Mollusca

The basic body plan of a Mollusc,
consists of three main parts: a
muscular foot, which functions in
locomotion; a visceral mass
containing most of the internal
organs; and a mantle, a fold of
tissue that drapes over the visceral
mass and secretes a shell in
molluscs such as clams or snails.
In many molluscs, the mantle
extends beyond the visceral mass,
producing a water-filled chamber
called the mantle cavity, which
houses the gills.

Most Molluscs have separate
sexes, with reproductive organs
located in the visceral mass. The
life cycle of many marine
molluscs includes a ciliated larva
called a trochophore, which is
also characteristic of some other
invertebrate phyla.
Class Pelecypoda

Bivalves have shells divided into
two halves that are hinged
together. Most bivalves are
suspension feeders. The mantle
cavity contains the gills that are
used for feeding as well as gas
exchange. The mucus-coated gills
trap fine food particles suspended
in the water, and cilia sweep the
particles to the mouth.

Most bivalves are sedentary,
living in sand or mud. They may
use their muscular foot for
digging and anchoring. Mussels
are sessile, secreting strong
threads that attach them to rocks,
docks, and boats.
Class Gastropoda

Most gastropods are protected by
a single, spiraled shell into which
the animal can retreat when
threatened. Many gastropods have
fidtinct had with eyes at the tips of
tentacles. Terrestrial snails lack
the gills typical of aquatic
molluscs; instead the lining of the
mantle cavity functions as a lung,
exchanging gases with the air.

Gastropods are dioecious, and
some forms are hermaphroditic.
Hermaphroditic forms exchange
bundles of sperm to avoid selffertilization; copulation may be
complex and in some species ends
with each individual sending a
sperm-containing dart into the
tissues of the other. Marine
species have Veliger larvae.
Class Cephalopoda

All Cephalopods have large brains
and sophisticated sense organs,
and these contribute to their being
successful, mobile predators.
Cephalopod eyes (among the most
complex in the animal kingdom)
contains a lens that focuses light
and a retina on which clear
images form. Octopuses are
considered the most intelligent.
Squids considered the largest.

Cephalopods are gonochoric. All
female typically possesses a
single oviduct. A male produces
spermatophores that it transfers to
the female’s genital pore by
means of a specialized arm or
tentacle. Mating in some
cephalopods includes courtship
rituals that may consist of color
changes, body movements, or
combinations of both.
Phylum Echinodermata

Echinoderms have a water
vascular system, a net work of
water-filled canals that branch
into extensions called tube feet.
Tube feet function in locomotion,
feeding, and gas exchange.

Echinoderms are deuterostomes.
The larvae, which are
planktotrophic, have three-partpaired coeloms. Embryonic
coelomic structures have specific
fates as the bilaterally
symmetrical larvae metamorphose
into radially symmetric adults.
Crabs
Phylum Arthropoda
Barnacles

The arthropod body including the
appendages, is covered by an
exoskeleton, an external skeleton
that provides points of attachment
for the muscles that move the
appendages. This non-living
covering, or cuticle, is constructed
from layers of protein and chitin,
a polysaccharide. As it grows, an
arthropod must periodically shed
its old exoskeleton and secrete a
larger one, a complex process
called molting.

Spiders
Arthropods are common
throughout marine, freshwater,
terrestrial, and even aerial
environments, as well as
including various symbiotic and
parasitic forms.
Class Crustacea

All crustaceans have two pairs of
antennae, a pair of mandibles, a
pair of compound eyes, and two
pair of maxillae on their heads,
followed by a pair of appendages
on each body segment. The
appendages are primitively
branched, and although this
condition is modified in many
species, adults always have at
least some biramous appendages
crustaceans respire via gills. A

Most crustaceans are dioecious.
The actual mechanisms by which
fertilization is achieved vary
greatly. Some crustaceans hatch
young that are like miniature
adults; others go through a larval
stage called a nauplius.
Class Arachnida

There are three important
modifications that are particularly
important for the terrestrial life
style of an arachnid. First, the
book gill is modified into a book
lung, an internal series of vascular
lamellae used for gas exchange
with the air. Second, appendages
are modified for more efficient
locomotion on land. Third, water
conservations enhanced by more
efficient excretory structures.

Arachnids are mostly carnivorous,
feeding on the pre-digested bodies
of insects and other small animals.
Several groups are largely
venomous; several mites are
parasites that can be carriers of
disease. Arachnids usually lay
eggs, which hatch into immatures
that resemble adults.
Class
Insecta
Ex: Moths … INSECTS! 

Their nervous system can be
divided into a brain and a ventral
nerve chord. The head capsule
(made up of six fused segments)
has six pairs of ganglia. The first
three pairs are fused into the
brain, while the three following
pairs are fused into a structure
called the sub-esophageal
ganglion.

Many in sets undergo
metamorphosis in their
development. There are two types
of metamorphosis: incomplete and
incomplete. Incomplete – occurs
when the young resemble adults
but are smaller with different
body portions. Complete – occurs
when their larval stages are
specialized for eating and growing
and look very different from the
adults which are specialized for
dispersal and reproduction.
Metamorphosis from larvae to
adult occurs during a pupal stage.
Class Chilopoda

Centipedes have worm-like,
flattened bodies. Most centipedes
can only bite with their poison
claws located directly under the
head. Each walking leg is tipped
with a sharp claw capable of
making tiny cuts in human skin.

Centipedes may be found in a
variety of habitats but most prefer
moist, protected places such as
under stones, rotted, logs, leaves,
or bark. They spend the winter as
adults and lay eggs during the
warm months. Generally, eggs are
laid in the soil and covered by a
sticky substances. A few species
give birth to live young.
Class Diplopoda

Millipedes have two pairs of legs
per segment (except for the first
segment behind the head which
does not have any appendages at
all, and the next few which only
have one pair of legs). Each
segment that has two pairs of legs
is a result of two single segments
fused together as one. Most
millipedes have very elongated
cylindrical bodies, although some
are flattened.

Millipedes are usually restricted
to moist places where they feed
on organic matter (In the fall, they
may invade homes), such as
leaves, mulch, piles of wood, or
wood chips.
Class Trilobite

The Trilobite had a ventral
nervous system, either a pair of
nerve chords, connected at
segmental ganglia (swellings), or
perhaps a single chord with
segmented nodes. The brain
would be an enlarged frontal
ganglion receiving sensory imput
from eyes and antennae, etc.

Trilobites were among the most
prominent of the paleozoic marine
arthropods, and they have only
been found in fossil beds. No
freshwater forms have been
found. They occupied many
different ocean environments,
from shallow flats and reefs, to
deeper ocean bottoms, and even
the water column, as floating
plankton or free-swimming forms.
Phylum Chordata

Chordates are a group of animals
that includes the Vertebrate,
together with several closely
related invertebrates. They are
united by having at some time in
their life cycle, a notochord, a
hollow dorsal nerve chord,
pharyngeal slits, an end style, and
a post-anal tail.
How they develop?

The development of a chordate is
dependent on the organism itself.
It depends on which subphyla
they are in because they all
develop quite differently.

Advantages:
Adaptions to live on land?
Subphylum Urochordata

Tunicates are suspension feeders.
They have two openings in their
body cavity = an incurrent and an
excurrent siphon. The incurrent
siphon is used to intake food and
water and the excurrent siphon
expels waste and water.

Most Tunicates are
hermaphroditic. The eggs are kept
inside their body until they hatch,
while sperm is released into the
water where it fertilizes other
individuals when brought in with
incoming water.
Subphylum Cephalopoda

Lancelets grow up to about five
centimeters long, reaching eight
centimeters at the longest. In
common with vertebrates, the
muscles are arranged in blocks
called myomeres. Unlike the
vertebrates, the dorsal nerve cord
is not protected by bone, but a
rather simpler notochord made up
of a cylinder of cells that are
closely packed to form a
toughened rod.

Lancelets live in sandy bottoms
near the shore the larvae may drift
over long distances before
settling. The sexes are separate,
and both males and females have
multiple paired gonads. Eggs are
fertilized externally, and develop
into free-swimming, fish-like
larvae.
Subphylum Vertebrata


Vertebrates, which include fishes,
reptiles, amphibians, birds, and
column, or a chain of bony
elements that run along the dorsal
surface from head to tail and form
the main skeletal axis of the body.
All vertebrates are easily
distinguished from all other
chordates by having an
unequivocal head, that is, sensory
organs – especially eyes are
concentrated at the fore end of the
body and there is pronounced
cephalization (and Back Bone).

With rare exceptions, vertebrates
have two separate sexes. Most lay
eggs and are said to be oviparous ,
but a number of fishes and snakes
retain eggs in their bodies, and the
eggs hatch internally. Other
vertebrates have modified the egg
so that the embryo is actively
nourished by and inside the body
of the mother.
Class Agnatha
• Jawless

Lampreys have no paired
fins, large eyes, one nostril
on the top of the head, and
seven gills on each side. The
unique morphological
characteristics of lampreys,
such as their cartilaginous
skeleton, mean that they are
the sister taxon of all living
jawed vertebrates and are
not classified within the
Vertebrata itself.
fish

Lampreys live mostly in
coastal and fresh waters.
The larvae are suspension
feeders that resemble
lancelets and spend much of
their time buried in
sediment. Most Lampreys
migrate to the sea or lakes
as they mature into adults.

Example: Great Lakes
Class Chondrichthyes

The Chondrichthyes or
cartilaginous fishes (sharks or
rays) are jawed fish with
paired fins, paired nostrils,
scales, two-chambered hearts,
and skeletons made of
cartilage rather than bone.
Sharks have a lateral line
system, a row of sensory
organs running along side that
are sensitive to changes in
water pressure and can detect
minor vibrations caused by
animals swimming nearby.

Chimaeras usually live on
muddy bottoms near the
shore. Sharks live in coastal
waters on the bottom or out
at sea in open water or at the
bottom. Skates and rays live
on the bottom in saltwater or
freshwater or move back
and forth between the two.
Class Osteichthyes
• Bony Fish

Bony fishes have
skeletons that are almost
completely calcified.
The vertebral column,
cranium, jaw, ribs, and
intramuscular bones
make up the bony fish
skeleton.

Depending on the
species, bony fishes can
live at various
temperatures. Some live
at extreme temperatures.
Class Reptilia


The class Reptilia includes turtles,
snakes, lizards, alligators, and
other large reptiles. Reptiles all
have backbones, they all breathe
air (even those that spend much of
their lives in water) and they
almost all have four limbs,
although in the case of snakes and
some lizards these are not usually
visible externally.
Reptiles are found in every
conceivable kind of environment,
from the driest and hottest deserts
to the wettest, steamiest
rainforests.

They produce an amniote egg
which usually has a leather hard
shell that protects the embryo
from drying out. This is an
advantage over fish and
amphibians because the amniote
egg can be laid on land where it is
usually safer from predators than
it would be in lakes, rivers, and
oceans.
Class Amphibia

With the development of lungs, there
is a change in the circulatory system.
The amphibian heart has a divided
atrium but a single ventricle. The
right atrium receives impure blood
with little oxygen from the body
proper, and the left atrium receives
purified blood from the lungs that has
just been oxygenated, but these two
types of blood are mixed partially in
the single ventricle. Mixed blood is
then sent, in part, to the skin, where
further oxygenation can occur.

Amphibia spend part of their lives
under water and part on land. Frogs,
toads, and salamanders are
amphibians. Many of these species
must keep their skin moist by
periodically returning to wet
areas. All of them must return to
water in order to reproduce since their
eggs would dry out otherwise. They
start life with gills, like fish, and later
develop lungs to breathe air.

For the purpose of reproduction most
amphibians are bound to fresh water.
A few tolerate brackish water, but
there are no true seawater
amphibians.
Class Aves
Birds

Digestive - Birds digest food
quickly, they can't afford the extra
weight. They have no teeth, the
breakdown of food occurs in the
gizzard - sometimes birds
swallow rocks to assist the
process. The crop stores food;
mother birds regurgitate food
stored in the crop to their babies.
Waste exits through the cloaca and so do eggs.

In general, each species of bird
occurs only within certain types
of habitat. And each plant
community - whether abandoned
field, mixed deciduous/coniferous
forest, desert, or freshwater
marsh, for instance - contains its
own predictable assortment of
birds (many habitats).
Class Mammalia

Mammal Circulatory systems are
divided into two circuits:
pulmonary and systemic. The
pulmonary circuit carries
deoxygenated blood from the
heart to the respiratory surface in
the lungs, where it is reoxygenated, and then back to the
heart. The systemic circuit carries
oxygenated blood to all the body's
cells via arteries, and
deoxygenated blood back to the
heart via veins. The mammalian
double circulatory system is
efficient because it uses a separate
pump (the two ventricles) to
power each circuit

From the coldest arctic ice to the
hottest deserts you will find
mammals living and thriving.
There seems to be no climate that
they can't adapt to, however
changeable it may be. There is a
good reason for this - mammals
have the ability to keep their body
at a constant temperature
whatever the weather.
Order Monotremata
Egg-laying Mammals

Monotremes are mammals that
lay eggs (Prototheria) instead of
giving birth to live young, which
is a trait found in no other
mammals.

Monotremes retain a reptile-like
gait, with legs that are on the sides
of rather than underneath the
body. The monotreme leg bears a
spur in the ankle region; the spur
is non-functional in echidnas, but
contains a powerful venom in the
male platypus.

The modern platypus is
distributed among the freshwater
systems of eastern Australia
where it occurs in abundance,
though its range does appear to
have been rather reduced since the
19th century. Of the echidnas,
Tachyglossus has the greater
range, occurring in eastern
Australia, as well as New Guinea
and Tasmania. Zaglossus is
apparently restricted to New
Guinea.
Order Marsupialia

Marsupials are mammals in which
the female typically has a pouch
in which it rears its young through
early infancy.

Marsupials have a brief gestation
and give birth to tiny, embryonic
offspring that complete
development while attached to the
mother’s nipples. The nursing
young are usually housed in an
external pouch, called the
marsupium.

Nearly all Marsupials live in
Australia, New Zealand, and
North and South America.
Marsupials have diversified to fill
different terrestrial habitats
(filling different ecological niches
based on location in Australia,
etc).
Order Artiodactyla

Organisms in this order are called
the even-toed ungulates because
their weight is borne about
equally by the third and fourth
toes, rather than mostly or entirely
by the third. Another key
distinguishing feature is the shape
of the astralagus (a bone in the
ankle), which has a double-pulley
structure in artiodactyls, giving
the foot greater flexibility.


Artiodactyls are native to all
continents except Australia and
Antarctica. The group contains a
number of domesticated species.
Ecologically, they range from
forest dwellers, such as wild pigs
and chevrotains, to dominant
large herbivores on grasslands.
Artiodactyls have colonized a
number of biomes characterized
by extreme conditions.
Order Carnivora


Carnivorans have strong sharp
claws, with never less than four
toes to each foot, and welldeveloped prominent canine teeth
and cheek teeth that generally
have cutting edges. The last
premolar of the upper jaw and
first molar of the lower are termed
the carnassials or sectorial teeth.
These are blade-like teeth that
occlude (close) with a scissor-like
action for shearing and shredding
meat.
Carnivorans have either four or
five digits on each foot.

The order Carnivora can be found
throughout the world, naturally
occurring on all continents except
Australia, New Guinea, New
Zealand, some oceanic islands,
and Antarctica, and are able to
adapt to all major types of
habitats.
Order Cetacea
Ex: Whales

Cetaceans are the mammals most
fully adapted to aquatic life. Their
body is fusiform (spindle-shaped).
The forelimbs are modified into
flippers. The tiny hind limbs are
vestigial; they do not attach to the
backbone and are hidden within
the body. The tail has horizontal
flukes. Cetaceans are nearly
hairless, and are insulated by a
thick layer of blubber. As a group,
Cetaceans are noted for their high
intelligence.


The order Cetacea contains ninety
species, all marine except for five
species of freshwater dolphins.
Cetaceans live, breed, rest, and
carry out all of their life functions
in the water.
Order Chiroptera
Ex: Bats


The most distinguishing feature of
Chiropterans is their forelimbs which
are developed as wings, making them
the only mammals in the world
naturally capable of flight.
Bats as a group are crepuscular or
nocturnal; their eyes are small and
inefficient, but their ears are usually
well developed.

Bats are found throughout the
world in tropical and temperate
habitats. They are missing only
from polar regions and from some
isolated islands. Although bats are
relatively common in temperate
regions, they reach their greatest
diversity in tropical forests.
Order Xenarthra
Ex: Armadillo

The toothless anteaters are
provided with heavy claws to tear
apart termite nests and a long,
slender, protrusile, sticky tongue
to capture the insects. The slowmoving, plant-eating sloths are
tree dwellers, with a rudimentary
tail and only two or three toes on
each foot. In the large group of
armadillos, the presence of a bony
carapace is unique among
mammals.
NOTE :
In the past, these families were classified together in the
order Edentata (meaning toothless, because the
members do not have front incisor teeth or molars, or
have poorly-developed molars). It was subsequently
realized that Edentata was polyphyletic—that it
contained unrelated families and was thus invalid by
cladisitc standards.


Its members are bizarre creatures
and highly specialized in structure
and habits. The Order is divided
into three families, all of which
are restricted to Central and South
America with the exception of
one species, the nine-banded
armadillo, which ranges north to
the United States.
• The most notable feature of their
postcranial skeleton are the special
articulations ( xenarthrous processes) on
the lumbar vertebrae. These are found in
no other mammals.
Order Insectivora
Ex: Moles and Shrews


The name insectivora (insect
eater) has reference to the food
habits of the group as a whole.
Although moles and shrews are
not all strictly insectivorous,
insects and other small animal life
constitute the chief dietary items
of most members of the group.
The eyes are usually very small,
the feet are plantigrade and have
five digits.


Most American shrews live on the
surface of the ground and occupy
burrows only for sleeping or
resting. Most of them have a
decided preference for damp or
boggy habitats where rank
vegetation, surface litter, rocks, or
rotting logs afford adequate
protection.
Moles, as a group, are
subterranean in habit and spend
most of their lives in the darkness
of underground tunnels which
they usually excavate for
themselves.
Order Lagomorpha
Ex: hares, pikas, and rabbits

Mammals assigned to this Order
superficially resemble rodents, but
lagomorphs differ from rodents in
several essential features. One of
these is the peculiar tandem
arrangement of the front (incisor)
teeth, with a large tooth in front
on each side and a small peg-like
tooth directly behind it. Also, the
number of premolars is different,
so that the total number of teeth is
26 or 28 and never as few as the
16 to 22 found in rodents.

All lagomorphs are terrestrial.
They occupy a wide diversity of
habitats, ranging from tropical
forest to arctic tundra. All are
herbivores that feed on grasses
and other small plants.
Order Perissodactyla
Ex: Rhinos

The odd-toed ungulates (animals
having an odd number of toes on each
hoof) are usually large, have
relatively simple stomachs and a large
middle toe. The name of their order
derives from the fact that their middle
toe is larger than the others, and the
plane of symmetry of the foot passes
through it. In other words, they either
walk on three toes (like rhinos,
tapirs, many extinct horses, and
other extinct groups) or on a
single toe (like recent horses).

Modern perissodactyls are native to
Africa, south and central Asia,
southern North America, and northern
South America. Most species are
herbivorous. (Most live in tropical
regions).
Order Primate
Ex: MONKEYS!
• All primates have five fingers
(pentadactyl), a generalized
dental pattern, and a primitive
(unspecialized) body plan.
Another distinguishing feature of
primates is finger nails.
• All primates, even those that
lack the features typical of other
primates (like lorises), share eye
orbit characteristics, such as a
postorbital bar, that distinguish
them from other taxonomic
orders.

They are essentially tropical in
distribution, found in the
Americas, Africa, and southern
Asia, although man has extended
the distribution to the coldest of
polar expeditions - indeed even to
extraterrestrial orbs.
Human!
Order Probascidea
Ex: Elephants, Mammoths, Mastodons


Obviously, elephants are easily
recognized by their amazingly
strong and long trunk. The trunk
is also quite sensitive, with the tip
being able to pick up the smallest
of objects with ease.
The tusks are elongated upper
incisors, and elephants have no
canines or premolars. The huge
molars are used to grind their
vegetarian food, are replaced
successively from behind as they
wear down.

The sole survivors of a once
prevalent order are the two
species of elephants, those
colossal pachyderms (thick skins)
which inhabit Africa south of the
Sahara, as well as India, Sri
Lanka, and southeast Asia.

Although today's elephants are
limited to the specific warmer
areas of Africa and Southeast
Asia, their precursors were found
on every continent but Australia
and Antarctica, and inhabited
every type of climate, with the
wooly mammoth wandering into
the coldest of winters.
Order Rodentia
Ex: Squirrel


Rodentia is an order of mammals
also known as rodents,
characterized by two
continuously-growing incisors in
the upper and lower jaws which
must be kept short by gnawing.
The teeth have enamel on the
outside and exposed dentine on
the inside, so they self-sharpen
during gnawing. Rodents lack
canines, and have a space between
their incisors and premolars.

Forty-percent of mammal species
are rodents, and they are found in
vast numbers on all continents
other than Antarctica.
Order Sirenia
Ex: Manatees

Sirenians, including manatees and
the Dugong, have major aquatic
adaptations: forelimbs have
modified into arms used for
steering, the tail has modified into
a paddle used for propulsion, hind
limbs (legs) are but two small
remnant bones floating deep in
the muscle. They appear fat, but
are fusiform, hydrodynamic, and
highly muscular. Their skulls are
highly modified for taking breaths
of air at the water's surface and
dentition is greatly reduced.

Sirenia is an order of fully
aquatic, herbivorous mammals
that inhabit rivers, estuaries,
coastal marine waters, swamps,
and marine wetlands.
THE END