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INTRODUCTION
Swallowing Snake
Animal, multicellular organism that obtains energy by eating food. With over 2 million known species, and many more awaiting
identification, animals are the most diverse forms of life on earth. They range in size from 30-m (100-ft) long whales to microscopic
organisms only 0.05 mm (0.002 in) long. They live in a vast range of habitats, from deserts and Arctic tundra to the deep-sea floor. Animals
are the only living things that have evolved nervous systems and sense organs that monitor their surroundings. They are also the only
forms of life that show flexible patterns of behavior that can be shaped by past experience. The study of animals is known as
zoology.Animals are multicellular organisms, a characteristic they share with plants and many fungi. But they differ from plants and fungi in
several important ways. Foremost among these is the way they obtain energy. Plants obtain energy directly from sunlight through the
process of photosynthesis, and they use this energy to build up organic matter from simple raw materials. Animals, on the other hand, eat
other living things or their dead remains. They then digest this food to release the energy that it contains. Fungi also take in food, but
instead of digesting it internally as animals do, they digest it before they absorb it.
Fierce Hunter
A flying eagle snatches a fish from the water with its long, curved talons. It will carry the fish to a feeding place on land before devouring it.
Eagles hunt only during the day; by night, they perch safely in their nests or in some other high spot.
Oxford Scientific Films
Most animals start life as a single fertilized cell, which divides many times to produce the thousands or millions of cells needed to form a
functioning body. During this process, groups of cells develop different characteristics and arrange themselves in tissues that carry out
specialized functions. Epithelial tissue covers the bodys inner and outer surfaces, while connective tissue binds it together and provides
support. Nervous tissue conducts the signals that coordinate the body (see Nervous System), and muscle tissuewhich makes up over twothirds of the body mass of some animalscontracts to make the body move. This mobility, coupled with rapid responses to opportunities
and hazards, is one feature that distinguishes animals from other forms of life.
Some kinds of animal movement, such as the slow progress of a limpet as it creeps across rocks, are so slow that they are almost
imperceptible. Others, such as the attacking dive of a peregrine falcon or the leap of a flea, are so fast that they are difficult or even
impossible to follow. Many single-celled organisms can move, but in absolute terms, animals are by far the fastest-moving living things on
earth.
Animal life spans vary from less than 3 weeks in some insects to over a century in giant tortoises. Some animals, such as sponges,
mollusks, fish, and snakes, show indeterminate growth, which means that they continue to grow throughout life. Most, however, reach a
pre-defined size at maturity, at which point their physical growth stops.
II
TYPES OF ANIMALS
Animal Kingdom
Kingdom Animalia includes more than one million living species, grouped into more than 30 phyla. Vertebrates, members of the phylum
Chordata, comprise only one percent of these organisms. Phylum Arthropoda is more successful in sheer numbers, total mass, and
distribution than all other groups of animals combined. The remaining animal phyla are composed of mostly marine-dwelling organisms.
Illustrated here is the evolutionary relationship between all of these groups.
Like all living things, animals show similarities and differences that enable them to be classified into groups. Birds, for example, are the only
animals that have feathers, while mammals are the only ones that have fur. The scientific classification of animals began in the late 18th
century. At this time, animals were classified almost entirely by external features, mainly because these are easy to observe. But external
features can sometimes be misleading. For example, in the past, comparison of physical features led to whales being classified as fish and
some snakes being classified as worms.
Vertebrate Embryos
Vertebrates that evolved from fish pass through similar embryonic stages. As a flexible notochord develops in the back, blocks of
tissue called somites form along each side of it. These somites will become major structures, such as muscle, vertebrae, connective tissue,
and, later, the larger glands of the body. Just above the notochord lies a hollow nerve cord. Such similarities formed the basis for German
biologist Ernst Haeckels biogenetic law, which states that an animals embryonic development recapitulates its evolution. Although
scientists now know that this law does not hold absolutely, Haeckels idea has remained influential.
One phylum of animals, the chordates, has been more intensively studied than has any other, because it comprises nearly all the worlds
largest and most familiar animals as well as humans. This phylum includes mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish together with a
collection of lesser-known organisms, such as sea squirts and their relatives (see Tunicates). The feature uniting these animals is that at
some stage in their lives, all have a flexible supporting rod, called a notochord, running the length of their bodies. In the great majority of
chordates, the notochord is replaced by a series of interlocking bones called vertebrae during early development. These bones form the
backbone, and they give these animals their namethe vertebrates.
Vertebrates total about 40,000 species. Thanks to their highly developed nervous systems and internal skeletons, they have
become very successful on land, sea, and air. Yet vertebrates account for only about 2 percent of animal species. The remaining 98 percent,
collectively called invertebrates, are far more numerous and diverse and include an immense variety of animals from sponges, worms, and
jellyfish to mollusks and insects. The only feature these diverse creatures share in common is the lack of a backbone.
Some invertebrate phyla contain relatively few species. An extreme example is the phylum Placozoa, which contains just one
species. Measuring less than 0.5 mm (0.02 in) across, this unique animal was first discovered in 1883 in a saltwater aquarium in Austria. Its
flat body consists of just two layers of cells, making it the simplest known member of the animal kingdom, although not the smallest.
Another minor phylum, the loriciferans, was classified in 1983 with the chance discovery of a tiny organism dredged up in marine gravel.
Several other species of loriciferans have since been identified, but little is known about how they live.
At the other end of the spectrum, some invertebrate phyla contain immense numbers of species. These major phyla include the
annelids (segmented worms), with 12,000 known species; the nematodes (roundworms), also with 12,000 known species; and the mollusks,
including bivalves, snails, and octopuses, with at least 100,000 species. The arthropods, with about 1 million known species, include the
insects, spiders, and crustaceans. These figures include only species that have been described and named, which are only a portion of
those that actually exist. Some biologists estimate that the total number of nematode species may be as high as a quarter of a million,
while the total number of arthropods could exceed 10 million.
Compared to vertebrates, most invertebrates are animals of modest dimensions. Giant squids, which are the largest invertebrates,
can exceed 18 m (60 ft) in length, but the great majority of invertebrate animals are less than 2.5 cm (1 in) long. Their small size enables
them to exploit food sources and infiltrate habitats that larger animals cannot use, but it also leaves them exposed to changing
environmental conditions. This is not often a problem in the sea, but it can create difficulties on land. Land-dwelling invertebrates have to
cope with the constant threat of drying out, and most of them quickly become inactive in low temperatures.
B
Cold-blooded and Warm-blooded Animals
Aquatic Habitats
Tidal Pool
The fluctuation of the tide allows for a unique environment along shorelines. The current continually circulates and replenishes a rich supply
of nutrients along beaches, but organisms living there must be adapted to both buffeting waves and frequent shifts from open air to
complete submersion. Marine organisms adapt to the constantly changing surroundings in a variety of ways. Starfish use suction-cup feet,
barnacles fix permanently to large objects like rocks and boats, and seaweed anchors firmly to the ocean floor. When the tide goes out,
pockets of water remain trapped in rocks, depressions in the sand, and natural basins called tidal pools, like the one shown here during low
tide.
Animal life first arose in water. Millions of years later, marine and freshwater habitats continue to support a large proportion of the
animal life on earth. Aquatic habitatsparticularly in the seas and oceansrarely experience abrupt changes in conditions, which is a major
advantage for living things.
In the seas and oceans, the greatest diversity of animal life is found in habitats close to shores. The richest of all these habitats are
coral reefs, underwater ridges that form in clear water where the minimum temperature is 20 C (68 F) or above. Coral reefs are composed
of an accumulation of the remains of coralinvertebrates with stony skeletonscalcareous red algae, and mollusks. One of the reasons for
the great diversity of animal life in reefs is that living coral creates a complex three-dimensional landscape, with many different
microhabitats. The smallest crevices provide hiding places for scavengers such as crabs and shrimps, while larger ones conceal predators
such as octopuses and moray eels. Over half the worlds fish species live in coral reefs, many hiding away by day and emerging after dark
to feed.
Ratfish
The ratfish is a member of a species of deep-water fish related to sharks. The deep-water habitat of the ratfish is dark, cold, and vast. Like
many deep-water predators, the ratfish uses several senses to track prey; its eyes are used to located bioluminescent prey The poisonous
spine in front of the dorsal fin is used defensively.
On reefs and rocky shores, many animals are sessile, meaning that they spend their entire adult lives fixed in one place. These
species, which include sponges, barnacles, and mollusks, as well as reef-building corals themselves, typically spend the early part of their
lives as drifting larvae, before settling on a solid surface and changing shape. Sessile animals are common in aquatic habitats because it is
relatively easy for them to collect food, which typically is pushed in the animals direction by water currents. By contrast, very few sessile
animals have evolved on land.
In open water, depth has a marked influence on animal lifestyles. The surface layers of the open sea teem with small and
submicroscopic animals, which feed either on algae and other plantlike organisms or on each other. These animals form part of the
plankton, a complex community of living things that drifts passively with the currents. Many planktonic animals can adjust the depth at
which they float, but larger animals such as fish, squid, and marine mammals, are strong enough to commute between the surface and the
depths far below.
Even in the clearest water, light quickly fades with increasing depth. Deeper than about 150 m (500 ft), not enough light
penetrates for photosynthesis to occur, so algae are unable to survive. With increasing depth, water pressure rises and temperature falls,
ultimately coming close to the freezing point on the ocean floor. Despite these extreme conditions, animal life is found in the oceans
greatest depths, fueled by the constant rain of organic debris that drifts down from far above. In a habitat where prey is widely scattered,
many deep-sea fish can swallow animals larger than themselves, an adaptation that allows them to go weeks or months between meals.
B
Land Habitats
Zoogeographic Regions
The worlds land area is divided into six zoogeographic regions, each with different fauna. Within these regions, animals are grouped by the
particular habitat they occupy. Land animals will tend toward habitats based on many factors, including indigenous food and availability of
natural protection from predators.
On land, animal habitats are strongly influenced by climate, the combination of precipitation and temperature conditions
experienced in a region. At or near the equator, year-round moisture and warmth generates a constant supply of food. Further north or
south, seasonal changes become much more pronounced, shaping the type of animals that live in different habitats and their strategies for
survival (see Animal Distribution).
Tropical and subtropical forests are home to by far the largest number of animal species on land. These animals include the majority of the
worlds insects, most of its primates, and a large proportion of its birds. Tropical forests have existed longer than any other forests on earth
and their plants and animals have evolved an elaborate web of interrelationships.
Much of the animal life of tropical forests is still poorly known, and new species are constantly being discovered. The majority of these
newly identified animals are invertebrates, but larger animals have also come to light during the 20th century. Major discoveries have
included three large but secretive plant-eating mammals: the okapi, discovered in Central Africa in 1900; the kouprey, discovered in the
forests of Cambodia in 1937; and the sao la, which was identified in forests bordering Laos and Vietnam in 1993.
Unlike tropical forests, temperate forests provide animals with an abundance of food during spring and summer, but a dearth during the
winter. In this habitat, animals have evolved several different strategies for avoiding starvation during the winter months. Food hoarders,
such as squirrels and jay birds, bury surplus food during the fall, and dig it up again when other food supplies run out. Other forest animals,
such as the common dormouse, avoid food shortages by hibernation, a period of inactivity when body temperature is lowered. A third group
of animalscomposed chiefly of birds, but also including some bats and insectsmigrates to warmer regions before the winter begins and
returns again in spring. In boreal forests, which are found in the far north, the seasonal swings are more extreme. Here only a few species
stay and remain active during the winter months.
For land animals, the most testing habitats are ones that experience intense drought or extreme cold. Desert animals cope with heat and
water shortage by behavioral adaptations, such as remaining below ground by day, and also by physiological adaptations. North American
kangaroo rats, for example, can live entirely on dry seeds without ever drinking liquid water. They do this by losing very little moisture from
their bodies and using all the metabolic water that is formed when food is broken down to release energy.
In tundra and on polar ice, winter air temperatures can fall to below -40 C (-40 F), which is far colder than the temperature of the
surrounding seas. The smallest inhabitants of tundra, which include vast numbers of mosquitoes and other biting flies, spend winter in a
state of suspended animation and are kept alive by chemical antifreeze within their tissues. The few animals that do remain active on land
or ice during winter, such as seals and male emperor penguins, rely on a thick layer of insulating fat to prevent their body heat leaking
away. Without this fat, they would die within a matter of minutes.
IV
FEEDING
Animals all feed on organic matter, but their diets and way of obtaining food vary enormously. Some animals are omnivores, meaning that
they are capable of surviving on a very wide range of foods. Many other animals, from giant pandas to fleas, have extremely precise
requirements and cannot deviate from their highly specialized diet.
A
Herbivores and Carnivores
To overcome the first of these problems, most herbivores have tough mouthparts for chewing and grinding their food. Many plant-eating
animals, from termites to cattle, have complex digestive systems containing microorganisms that break down cellulose and other
indigestible plant substances, turning them into nutrients that the animals can absorb. The second problemlack of nutrientsis harder to
sidestep, particularly in a diet made up largely of leaves. As a result, leaf-eaters often have to feed for many hours each day to obtain the
nutrients that they need.
Anglerfish
Anglerfish have appendages that serve as fishing rods or lures to attract prey, mainly other fish. They are found in oceans all over the world
and generally inhabit deep waters. Certain species can grow to lengths of about 1.5 m (5 ft), and have huge mouths capable of swallowing
fish of equal size.
Zig Leszczynski/Animals Animals
In this method of hunting, camouflage and other forms of deception play a prominent role. Most animals that use a lie-and-wait strategy
blend in with their surroundings, but a few use lures to entice their prey within range. A typical example is the alligator snapping turtle of
North America, which waves a ribbon of pink flesh on its tongue that resembles a worm. Any fish venturing toward it is swallowed whole.
In predatory animals, teeth or other mouthparts often play a part in catching and subduing food as well as in preparing it for digestion.
These mouthparts include canine teeth in carnivorous mammals, venomous fangs in snakes, and poisonous harpoons in some marine
mollusks. These harpoons can impale and kill small fish. Each harpoon is used just once, and afterwards it is expelled and another is formed
in its place.
B
Giant Anteater
Anteaters are native to Central and South America, inhabiting both forest and open-plain regions. The giant anteater, shown here, is the
largest of the species, weighing up to 23 kg (50 lb). The animal is well-adapted to hunt for insects, its sole source of food, because of its
long front claws and sticky tongue, which can extend to 60 cm (24 in).
Library of Natural Sounds, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. All rights reserved./Miriam Austerman/Animals Animals
Most predators hunt the largest animals that they can catch without putting themselves unduly at risk. However, some animals concentrate
on food items that are much too small to be worth collecting one by one. Instead of catching food individually, they have special feeding
adaptations for sweeping it up in bulk.
Whale Shark
Strictly a filter feeder, the whale shark strains plankton and small fish from the upper waters of tropical and subtropical seas by lying
motionless beneath the waters surface. Considered the largest living species of fish, a whale shark may measure more than 15 m (50 ft) in
length and weigh more than 18 metric tons. The whale shark poses little risk to humans; however, whale sharks have been known to ram
boats that they have mistaken for rival sharks.
James D. Watt/Animals Animals
On land, these animals include insect-eating mammals, such as anteaters and pangolins. Using their long and sticky tongues, they lick up
ants and termites and can consume over 20,000 insects a day. In water, this kind of feeding strategy is mirrored by animals called filter
feeders, which sieve small animals or food particles from their surroundings. Many of these filter feeders are sessile animals that sieve food
from the water immediately around them. Others, such as some whales, scoop up their food while on the move and filter it out in their
mouths, using specialized gills or plates of a fibrous material called baleen. This feeding technique is extremely efficient, allowing whales to
grow to an immense size.
BREATHING
many animals breathe by using gills. A typical gill consists of a stack of thin flaps connected to the animals blood supply. Water moves past
the flaps in a one-way flow, either when the animal moves, or when it pumps water through its body. The flaps extract oxygen from the
water and pass it into the blood, which transfers it to needed tissues. The blood releases carbon dioxide in exchange.
form of creeping movement, seen in earthworms, involves changes in body shape. The worms segments extend and contract in a set
sequence, allowing it to force its way through the surrounding soil.
Some of the earthworms relatives have flaps called parapodia that help them to move, but even with these, their speed is fairly modest.
With a few notable exceptionssuch as squid and octopuses, which can move by a form of jet propulsionthe fastest animals by far are
ones that have skeletons and jointed limbs.
A
Jointed Limbs
Cheetah Running
The cheetah is believed to be the fastest animal on Earth, reaching speeds of more than 97 km/h (60 mph) while chasing prey. Wildebeests,
gazelles, impalas, and other hoofed mammals make up much of the cheetahs diet. Cheetahs generally stalk their prey to within 10 m (33
ft) and then burst into a sprint to close the gap. Studies indicate that approximately half of the chases initiated by the cheetah are
successful.
National Geographic Society/Worldwide Television News
Jointed limbs are found in only two groups of animals: the arthropods and vertebrates. An arthropods limbs are made of a number of hard
tubular segments, which form part of its external skeleton, or exoskeleton. The muscles that operate them are hidden away inside this
strong outer framework. In vertebrates, the plan is reversed. The bony skeleton forms an internal framework, with muscles attached around
it.
Pigeon in Flight
A bird moves its wings in two ways during flapping flight. The part of the wing closest to the birds body moves up and down.
Simultaneously, the tip of the wing moves in a circular motion, propelling the bird forward. The way a bird flies depends on the shape of its
wings. Most small birds flap their wings the entire time they are airborne, while gulls and other large birds with long, pointed wings soar or
glide. The fastest fliers have sharply tapered wings.
Oxford Scientific Films
During the course of evolution, both these kinds of limbs have become modified in many different ways. Aquatic animals often have
paddlelike limbs that push against the water, enabling them to speed away from predators or after food, or to maneuver their way around
confined spaces. On land, the fastest animals, such as the horse and cheetah, have long legs and a flexible backbone, which helps to
increase the length of their stride. Land animals that move by jumping often have highly developed hind legs, with extra-large muscles. In
fleas, the muscles squeeze an elastic material called resilin, which flicks the legs back when released. This extremely rapid flick is faster
than a jump triggered by muscles alone, and it throws a flea up to 30 cm (12 in) into the air.
Many animals can glide, but only insects, birds, and bats are capable of powered flight. The fastest flying insects are dragonflies, which can
reach speeds of about 29 km/h (about 18 mph) in short bursts. However, in terms of speed and endurance, birds are by far the most
successful animal aviators. Swans and geese can cruise at 64 km/h (40 mph) for many hours at a time, while peregrine falcons can briefly
reach 145 km/h (90 mph) when they swoop down on their prey.
B
Patterns of Movement
Migrating Wildebeest
The blue wildebeest, or brindled gnu, migrates annually from Kenya to northern South Africa. Along their migratory route the wildebeests
stop at watering holes on the Grameti River, where they become the chief source of food for Nile crocodiles. Scientists speculate that the
crocodiles of the Grameti River may feed only once a year, when blue wildebeests arrive during their annual migration.
John Downer/Oxford Scientific Films
Being able to move gives animals many advantages, but it also generates its own demands. For any animal, random movement can be
unhelpful or even dangerous. To be useful, movement has to be carefully guided.
Animals are guided by their senses, which provide feedback about their changing surroundings. In animals that have radial symmetry
(symmetry around a central point), such as jellyfishes, sensory nerves are arranged more or less evenly around the body. This arrangement
makes the animal equally sensitive to stimuli from any direction. In bilaterally symmetrical animals (animals made of equal halves), sensory
nerves are concentrated in the head. They convey signals to the brain from organs such as ears and eyes, telling an animal about the
surroundings that it is about to encounter.
Monarch Migration
The monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus, is known for its extraordinarily long migrations. During the summer months, monarchs can be
found throughout the continental United States and parts of Canada, and they migrate to the California coast and central Mexico for the
winter. The longest recorded flight for a tagged adult is 2,900 km (1,800 mi). A large number of monarchs spend their winters in the
mountains west of Mexico City. Scientists speculate that the mountainous climate provides a favorable mix of moist air and cool, but not
freezing, temperatures. These conditions keep the butterfly from drying out and keep its metabolism low enough to conserve fat stores but
high enough to maintain life.
G. G. Dimijian/Photo Researchers, Inc.
These sensory systems help animals to move toward food and away from possible danger. On a longer time span, they also guide them
through much more complex patterns of movement that are essential for their survival. These movements include special kinds of behavior
needed to locate a partner, and also seasonal movements or migrations.
Some of the shortest migrations are carried out by microscopic flatworms that live on sandy shores. These worms migrate up to the surface
of the sand at low tide and back into it at high tidea total distance of about 20 cm (about 8 in) roughly twice a day. In the open ocean,
many planktonic animals carry out larger daily migrations, rising to the surface at dusk and then sinking at sunrise. By doing this, they
reduce the chances of being eaten.
The longest migrations are annual ones, undertaken by animals in response to the changing seasons. By carrying out these journeys,
animals can breed in places where food is abundant for just a few months each year. Long-distance annual migration is seen in some planteating mammals, such as wildebeest and caribou, and also in whales, but it is most common in animals that fly. Some birds, such as terns
and shearwaters, migrate over 32,000 km (20,000 mi) each year. Research has shown that during these epic journeys, they use a variety of
cues to help them navigate. These include familiar landmarks, the position of the sun and stars, and the also the orientation of Earths
magnetic field (see Animal Migration).
VII
REPRODUCTION
Like all living things, animals have limited life spans. Although individual animals eventually die, reproduction ensures that they hand on
their characteristics to future generations. Animals reproduce at markedly different rates, but all have the potential to increase their
numbers if resources allow it. In practice, sharp increases are rare, kept in check by predators and food shortages.
A
Forms of Reproduction
Animal reproduction takes two overall forms. In the first form, called asexual reproduction, animals produce offspring without needing a
partner. Asexual reproduction is most common in simple animals such as flatworms and cnidarians. In flatworms, the parent often develops
a constriction in its body, and the rear part eventually tears itself free. The rear part grows a new head, while the front part grows a new
tail. Some cnidarians can also divide in two, but many reproduce by a different process, called budding. During budding, a small outgrowth
of the body slowly develops into a complete new animal, which eventually takes up life on its own.
Asexual reproduction also occurs in insects such as aphids and in a few unusual vertebrates, such as whiptail lizards. However, in general, it
is rarely used as an animals sole method of reproduction. This is because asexual reproduction produces offspring that are genetically
identical to their parent. They inherit all their parents weak points and are equally vulnerable if a disease or other changes in the
environment threaten the groups survival.
A second and much more common form of reproduction, sexual reproduction, involves two parents. The parents produce sperm and egg
cells (gametes), which are brought together to form a fertilized cell (zygote) with a new and unique combination of genes. In this genetic
lottery, offspring inherit unique combinations of characteristics that increase the likelihood that at least some individuals in the population
can survive changes in the environment.
Sexual reproduction is used by the vast majority of the worlds animals. However, a significant number of species, particularly in the world
of insects, use both forms of reproduction at different stages of their life cycles. They reproduce asexually when food is abundant, but turn
to sexual reproduction when conditions become more severe.
B
Reproductive Strategies
Internal Fertilization
Terrestrial vertebrates clasp each other tightly during copulation, the act by which the male deposits his sperm into the females
reproductive tract. In the giant Galpagos tortoises pictured here, mating may take hours.
Tui De Roy/Oxford Scientific Films
On land, external fertilization is rare because egg and sperm cells cannot survive for long in the open. As a result, almost all land animals
must mate to trigger internal fertilization in order to reproduce. Different groups of animals have evolved a wide variety of mechanisms to
make sure that males and females manage to locate suitable partners. Some female insects emit chemicals called pheromones, which
guide males towards them, while others use sound signals or biochemically produced light (see Bioluminescence). In birds, elaborate
plumage and courtship displays help to attract females towards the males (see Animal Courtship and Mating).
The males of many insects and virtually all mammals use a penis to transfer sperm to the female, who harbors the eggs, in a process
known as copulation. The penis ensures that sperm is transferred successfully without being carried away by wind, water, or other
environmental elements. Most birds and reptiles mate using a cloaca, a single opening located on the lower abdomen. During mating, these
animals align their cloacas for transfer of sperm. Some birds, such as bald eagles, can perform this feat in mid-air.
Once a female has mated, egg development can proceed in two different ways. In oviparous species, which include the majority of
vertebrates except mammals, and also most insects, the fertilized eggs are laid and develop outside the mothers body. In viviparous
animals, which include nearly all mammals together with some reptiles and sharks, the young develop inside the mother and are born live.
Most animals that are born live look similar to their parents, although they are not fully developed. By contrast, many egg-laying
invertebrates look completely different from their parents when they hatch and often live in a completely different way. Known as larvae,
these young change shapes as they grow up, during a process called metamorphosis. Larvae are also found in some fish and most
amphibians.
C
Mating Systems
Animals that reproduce sexually have evolved a wide variety of different systems for maximizing the number of young that can be raised.
In the simplest system, each female is partnered by a male, and the partnership lasts for life. In more complex systems, the fittest adults
have many partners while others have none at all.
In polygynous breeding systems, successful males mate with more than one female. Polygyny is common in birds, particularly in species
where the males establish breeding territories that provide access to food. A male with a good territory may attract several mates, while
one with an inferior territory may attract few or none. Polygyny can also be seen in some mammals and is taken to extremes in species
such as elephant seals. The largest and most powerful male elephant seals, weighing up to four times as much as the females, clash
viciously for dominance on a breeding beach. A successful male can assemble a harem of over twenty females, but weaker males are
excluded from breeding altogether.
In polyandrous breeding systems, one female mates with several males. This kind of breeding system is rare and usually occurs in species
where the males take on the work of raising the young. An example of a polyandrous bird is the North American spotted sandpiper. In this
species, females compete for males. A single female can lay up to five sets, or clutches, of eggs, and each clutch is incubated by a different
partner.
The most specialized mating systems of all occur in animals that form permanent family groups. In social insects, which include many bees
and wasps and all ants and termites, each group or colony is founded by a single female or queen. The queen is the only individual in the
colony to reproduce. Her offspring, which can number more than a million, forage for food, maintain the nest, and care for the young.
D
Parental Care
Tulip-Tree Beauty
The tulip-tree beauty is a large moth that feeds on the foliage of the tulip tree as a caterpillar. Found from southern Canada to Florida, the
moths often have banded coloration that camouflages them against tree bark.
John R. MacGregor/Peter Arnold, Inc.
The need to eat exposes animals to the danger of being attacked and eaten themselves. To avoid this fate, all animals have physical
adaptations that enable them to escape being attacked or to survive an attack once it is underway.
Turtle Skeleton
The turtle or tortoise body is encased in a shell made up of a series of bony plates covered with a horny shield. The vertebrae and ribs are
fused to the inside of this shell, which gives it additional support and strength. It is impossible for turtles or tortoises to crawl out of their
shells. Turtles have a relatively flattened shell and are aquatic, while tortoises have a dome-shaped shell and are terrestrial.
Dorling Kindersley
The simplest form of defense is a rapid escape, which calls for keen senses and well-developed systems for movement. Many plant-eating
mammals depend on this strategy for survival and must maintain a constant lookout for danger. A less-demanding survival strategy, found
in many small animals such as insects, involves deception. These animals use camouflage to blend in with their backgrounds, or they mimic
inedible objects such as twigs or bird droppings. If a predator does come too close, they still have the option of making a dash for safety.
Egyptian Vulture
This Egyptian vulture holds a stone in its beak in preparation for smashing an ostrich egg. Egyptian vultures are unusual among birds
because they use stones as tools for obtaining food.
Roy Toft/Tom Stack and Associates
In simple animals, behavior is governed almost entirely by instinct, meaning that it is pre-programmed by an animals genes. In more
complex animals, instinctive behavior is often modified by learning, producing more-flexible responses to the outside world.
Many forms of behavior help animals to survive severe environmental conditions. Two examples are hibernation, which enables animals to
survive cold and food shortages in winter; and estivation, which allows animals to survive drought and heat in summer. True hibernators,
such as bats and some rodents, become completely inactive during winter, and their body temperature falls close to freezing. While in this
state, they survive entirely on food reserves stored in their bodies. Estivating animals, which include land snails and some amphibians, seal
themselves up when conditions become dry and only become active again when it rains. Between these two extremes, many other animals
show less drastic patterns of behavior that are triggered by cold or heat. Winter wrens, for example, often crowd together for sleep when
temperatures fall below freezing. On warmer nights, they sleep on their own.
Special forms of behavior also help animals to find food, to avoid being eaten, and to protect their young. One of the most advanced forms
of this behavior is the use of tools. Several kinds of animals, particularly primates and birds, pick up implements such as twigs and stones
and use them to get at food. More rarely, some tool-using animals seek out a particular object and then shape it so that it can be used.
Woodpecker finches probe for insect grubs by making tools from cactus spines, and chimpanzees sometimes dig for termites using specially
prepared twigs.
Defensive behavior is exhibited by individual animals and also by animal groups. Group defense is common in herding mammals,
particularly in species such as the musk-ox, which form a protective ring around their calves when threatened by wolves. It can also be
seen in swallows, starlings, and other songbirds, which instinctively mob hawks and other birds of prey. By grouping together to harass their
enemies, they reduce the chances that they or their young will be singled out and attacked.
Individual defensive behavior is often based on threatening gestures that make an animal look larger or more dangerous than it actually is.
Sometimes it involves some highly specialized forms of deception. One of the most remarkable is playing dead. Seen in animals such as the
Virginia opossum and some snakes, this last-ditch defense is effective against predators that habitually hunt moving prey but leave dead
animals alone. After the predator has inspected the dead animal and moved on, the prey comes back to life and makes its escape.
IX
ORIGINS OF ANIMALS
Most biologists agree that animals evolved from simpler single-celled organisms. Exactly how this happened is unclear, because few fossils
have been left to record the sequence of events. Faced with this lack of fossil evidence, researchers have attempted to piece together
animal origins by examining the single-celled organisms alive today.
Modern single-celled organisms are classified into two kingdoms: the prokaryotes and protists. Prokaryotes, which include bacteria, are very
simple organisms, and lack many of the features seen in animal cells. Protists, on the other hand, are more complex, and their cells contain
all the specialized structures, or organelles, found in the cells of animals. One protist group, the choanoflagellates or collar flagellates,
contains organisms that bear a striking resemblance to cells that are found in sponges. Most choanoflagellates live on their own, but
significantly, some form permanent groups or colonies.
This tendency to form colonies is widely believed to have been an important stepping stone on the path to animal life. The next step in
evolution would have involved a transition from colonies of independent cells to colonies containing specialized cells that were dependent
on each other for survival. Once this development had occurred, such colonies would have effectively become single organisms. Increasing
specialization among groups of cells could then have created tissues, triggering the long and complex evolution of animal bodies.
This conjectural sequence of events probably occurred along several parallel paths. One path led to the sponges, which retain a collection
of primitive features that sets them apart from all animals. Another path led to two major subdivisions of the animal kingdom: the
protostomes, which include arthropods, annelid worms, mollusks, and cnidarians; and the deuterostomes, which include echinoderms and
chordates. Protostomes and deuterostomes differ fundamentally in the way they develop as embryos, strongly suggesting that they split
from each other a long time ago.
Animal life first appeared perhaps a billion years ago, but for a long time after this, the fossil record remains almost blank. Fossils exist that
seem to show burrows and other indirect evidence for animal life, but the first direct evidence of animals themselves appears about 650
million years ago, toward the end of the Precambrian period. At this time, the animal kingdom stood on the threshold of a great explosion in
diversity (see Biodiversity). By the end of the Cambrian Period, 150 million years later, all of the main types of animal life existing today
had become established.
A
Moving onto Land
When the first animals evolved, dry land was probably devoid of any kind of life, except possibly bacteria. Without terrestrial plants, landbased animals would have had nothing to eat. But when plants took up life on land over 400 million years ago, that situation changed, and
animals evolved that could make use of this new source of food. The first land animals included primitive wingless insects and probably a
range of soft-bodied invertebrates that have not left fossil remains. The first vertebrates to move onto land were the amphibians, which
appeared about 370 million years ago.
For all animals, life on land involved meeting some major challenges. Foremost among these were the need to conserve water and the need
to extract oxygen from the air. Another problem concerned the effects of gravity. Water buoys up living things, but air, which is 750 times
less dense than water, generates almost no buoyancy at all. To function effectively on land, animals needed support.
In soft-bodied land animals such as earthworms, this support is provided by a hydrostatic skeleton, which works by internal pressure. The
animals body fluids press out against its skin, giving the animal its shape. In insects and other arthropods, support is provided by the
exoskeleton (external skeleton), while in vertebrates it is provided by bones. Exoskeletons can play a double role by helping animals to
conserve water, but they have one important disadvantage: unlike an internal bony skeleton, their weight increases very rapidly as they get
bigger, eventually making them too heavy to move. This explains why insects have all remained relatively small, while some vertebrates
have reached very large sizes.
B
Speciation and Extinction
Galpagos Finches
The fourteen species of finch that inhabit the Galpagos Islands are believed to have evolved from a single species resembling the blueblack grassquit, Volatinia jacarina, abundant in Latin America and the Pacific coast of South America. The ancestral finch, with its short,
stout, conical bill specialized for crushing seeds, probably migrated from the mainland to the Galpagos Islands. Its descendants, free to
exploit the resources they would otherwise share with warblers, woodpeckers, and other birds, adapted to the available range of habitats
(tree, cactus, or ground) and food (seeds, cactus, fruit, or insects). The size and shape of their bills reflect these specializations, an example
of adaptive radiation.
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Like other living things, animals evolve by adapting to and exploiting their surroundings. In the billion-year history of animal life, this
process has created vast numbers of new species, each capable of using resources in a slightly different way. Some of these species are
alive today, but these are a minority; an even greater number are extinct, having lost the struggle for survival.
Speciation, the birth of new species, usually occurs when a group of living things becomes isolated from others of their kind (see Species
and Speciation). Once this has occurred, the members of the group follow their own evolutionary path and adapt in ways that make them
increasingly distinct. After a long periodtypically thousands of yearstheir unique features mean that they can no longer breed with their
former relatives. At this point, a new species comes into being.
In animals, this isolation can come about in several different ways. The simplest form, geographical isolation, occurs when members of an
original species become separated by a physical barrier. One example of such a barrier is the open sea, which isolates animals that have
been accidentally stranded on remote islands. As the new arrivals adapt to their adopted home, they become more and more distinct from
their mainland relatives. Sometimes the result is a burst of adaptive radiation, which produces a number of different species. In the
Hawaiian Islands, for example, 22 species of honeycreepers have evolved from a single pioneering species of finch-like bird.
Another type of isolation is thought to occur where there is no physical separation. In this case, differences in behavior, such as mate
selection, may sometimes help to split a single species into distinct groups. If the differences persist for a long enough time, new species
are created.
The fate of a new species depends very much on the environment in which it evolved. If the environment is stable and no new competitors
appear on the scene, an animal species may change very little in hundreds of thousands of years. But if the environment changes rapidly
and competitors arrive from outside, the struggle for survival is much more intense. In these conditions, either a species changes, or it
eventually becomes extinct.
During the history of animal life, on at least five occasions, sudden environmental change has triggered simultaneous extinction on a
massive scale. One of these mass extinctions occurred at the end of the Cretaceous Period, about 65 million years ago, killing all dinosaurs
and perhaps two-thirds of marine species. An even greater mass extinction took place at the end of the Permian Period, about 200 million
years ago. Many biologists believe that we are at present living in a sixth period of mass extinction, this time triggered by human beings.
X
ANIMALS IN THE BALANCE OF NATURE
Compared to plants, animals make up only a small part of the total mass of living matter on earth. Despite this, they play an important part
in shaping and maintaining natural environments.
Many habitats are directly influenced by the way animals live. Grasslands, for example, exist partly because grasses and grazing animals
have evolved a close partnership, which prevents other plants from taking hold. Tropical forests also owe their existence to animals,
because most of their trees rely on animals to distribute their pollen and seeds. Soil is partly the result of animal activity, because
earthworms and other invertebrates help to break down dead remains and recycle the nutrients that they contain. Without its animal life,
the soil would soon become compacted and infertile.
By preying on each other, animals also help to keep their own numbers in check. This prevents abrupt population peaks and crashes and
helps to give living systems a built-in stability. On a global scale, animals also influence some of the nutrient cycles on which almost all life
depends. They distribute essential mineral elements in their waste, and they help to replenish the atmospheres carbon dioxide when they
breathe. This carbon dioxide is then used by plants as they grow.
A
Animals and People
many whale stocks to the brink of extinction. Today, highly efficient sea fishing threatens some species of fish with the same fate (see
Fisheries).
Endangered Nn Goose
Rats and mongooses introduced in the Hawaiian Islands have found an easy meal in the nn goose, one of the many bird species native
only to Hawaii. Through captive breeding programs, the population of this endangered bird had rebounded to more than 1,000 by the early
2000s, but today the birds are all genetically similar, creating inbreeding that harms their chances of survival.
James L. Amos/Corbis
Since the beginning of agriculture, the human population has increased by more than two thousand times. To provide the land needed for
growing food and housing people, large areas of Earths landscapes have been completely transformed. Forests have been cut down,
wetlands drained, and deserts irrigated, reducing these natural habitats to a fraction of their former extent.
Some species of animals have managed to adapt to these changes. A few, such as the brown rat, raccoon, and house sparrow, have
benefited by exploiting the new opportunities that have opened up and have successfully taken up life on farms, or in towns and cities. But
most animals have specialized ways of life that make them dependent on a particular kind of habitat. With the destruction of their habitats,
their number inevitably declines.
During the last century or so, animals have also had to face additional threats from human activities. Foremost among these are
environmental pollution and the increasing demand for resources, such as timber and fresh water. For some animals, the combination of
these changes has proved so damaging that their numbers are now below the level needed to guarantee survival.
Across the world, efforts are currently under way to address this urgent problem (see Endangered Species). In the most extreme cases,
gravely threatened animals can be helped by taking them into captivity and then releasing them once breeding programs have increased
their number. One species that was restored in this way is the Hawaiian mountain goose or nn. In the 1950s, its population had been
reduced to about 25 birds. Captive breeding has since helped the population increase, although the nn remains on the endangered list.
While captive breeding is a useful emergency measure, it cannot assure the long-term survival of a species. Today animal protection
focuses primarily on the preservation of entire habitats, an approach that maintains the necessary links between the different species the
habitats support. With the continued growth in the worlds human population, habitat preservation will require a sustained reduction in our
use of the worlds resources to minimize our impact on the natural world.