The_Animal_Kingdom

The animal kingdom consists of many different types of species that live either on land or in the water. According to the website Ecology Global Network “It is estimated that at least ten million different species of animals inhabit the earth at any one given time”(Mclamb). According to the University of Michigan’s animal diversity website, there are ten major classifications and biological orders that taxonomists have used to organize each species. The ten categories are Amphibians, Arthropods, Birds, Bony Fishes, Echinoderms, Insects, Mammals, Mollusks, Reptiles, and Sharks. This essay will focus on eight species, two from four of the ten categories. The species are the Blue Whale and African Elephant from the mammal family, honeybees and wasps, from the insect family, Sandhill Crane and American white pelicans from the bird family, and starfish and sea cucumbers, from the Echinoderms family. The Blue Whale and Elephant are both considered mammals because of the fact that they bear live young and breathe air. The Blue Whale and African Elephant also share the distinct similarity of being the largest mammals on earth. The major differences between the Blue Whale and the African Elephant are where they live. The Blue Whale lives in all oceans and the Elephant is a land dweller living in tropical rainforests and swamps. The African Elephant belongs to the Proboscidea order. According to the website enchanted learning.com “The word Proboscidea comes from the word proboscis, which means "nose.”(2010). Two other species that belong in the same order with the African Elephant are the Asian Elephant and the now extinct Mammoth and Mastodon. According to the University of Michigan Website “The Blue Whale belongs to the Cetacea Order because they evolved from terrestrial animals to an entirely aquatic life form that is completely separated from the land in all aspects of biology”. Cetaceans live, breed, rest, and carry out all of their life functions in the water. (2008). Two other species in the same order as the Blue Whale are Dolphins and porpoises. The Honeybee and Wasp are both insects, they are similar in the fact that they both have wings and fly and they also both like to nest in wooded areas and feed on nectar. Two differences between the honeybee and wasp are that wasps are generally thinner, more aggressive and more interested in your garbage, honeybees are usually plumper, milder temper and only interested in flowers. Another difference is that honeybees will die if they are forced to sting in defense, whereas wasps can sting multiple times. Honeybees lose their stinger after stinging, wasps do not. Both the Honeybee and Wasp belong to the Hymenoptera class. According to Entemologist John R. Meyer” The class is named after the Greek words “hymen" meaning membrane and "ptera" meaning wings. It is also a reference to Hymeno, the Greek god of marriage. The name is appropriate not only for the membranous nature of the wings, but also for the manner in which they are "joined together as one"(Meyer,2005). The Sandhill Crane and American White Pelican are from the bird family. They are similar in the fact that they both have wings and can fly and are that they breed with the same mate. The Sandhill Crane and Pelican are different in the fact that Pelicans bill can hold almost 3 gallons of water which drains out of the bill then the bird lifts up their head to swallow their food. The sandhill crane has a finer thinner beak which enables the bird to find food in smaller places. Pelicans belong to the Pelecaniformes order that is characterized by webbed feet with four toes and a throat sac, referred to as a gular sac. The gular sac is a pouch used to trap fish for food. Two species in the same order as pelicans are the Christmas Island frigatebird and the red-tailed tropicbird. Sandhill Cranes belong to the Gruiformes order which refers to birds with long legs, necks and beaks. Gruiformes are also known to form large flocks. Two species in the same order as the Sandhill Crane are the white-breasted waterhen and the grey-necked wood-rail. The Common Starfish and Sand Dollar are invertebrates in the Echinoderms family. They are similar in the fact that the sexes are separate and fertilization is external. The starfish and sand dollar also use suction cups to move across the sea floor. The starfish and sand dollar differ in their food habits. Starfish are carnivores feeding on bivalves, gastropods, and crabs. The sand dollar burrows into the sea bed feeding on algae and other organic materials. Another difference is that the starfish has no teeth; it actually pushes its stomach out of its mouth to wrap around prey. The gastric juices then dissolve the prey which is sucked into the stomach. The Sand Dollar on the other hand has teeth that form a ring around the mouth. The Starfish belongs to the forcipulatida order which refers to their shape. The Asterias and Forbes sea star are two other species belonging to the forcipulatida order. The Sand Dollar belongs to the Clypeasteroida family. The Sand Dollar has a rigid outer skeleton much like a shell that is often found washed up on beaches. The shell is covered by spines that move the sand dollar about the bottom of the ocean. Two species that are in the same order as the sand dollar are the six holed keyhole urchin and the sea urchin. References Enchanted Learning. (2010). Proboscidean Mammals. Retrieved from http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/mammals/classification/Proboscidea.shtml McLamb, E. (2008). Earth at a Glane. The Ecology Global Network. Retrieved from http://ecology.com/features/earthataglance.html Meyer, J. (2005). Life, History and Ecology. North Carolina State University. Retrieved from http://www.cals.ncsu.edu/course/ent425/compendium/ants.html University of MIchigan. (2008). University of Michigan Zoology Animal Diversity. Retrieved from http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Balaenoptera_musculus.html