Classification

Today we learnt about how animals are classified into groups. Animals are either vertebrates or invertebrates. Vertebrates are animals with spines. And invertebrates are animals with no spine.

Invertebrates  are animals like jellyfish, crabs, insects and octopus.

Vertebrates are put into five groups. They are mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and amphibians.
Mammals have fur or hair and give birth to live young. Birds have feathers and lay hard eggs. Reptiles are cold blooded and lay soft eggs. Amphibians breath through their skin and need to keep their skin moist. Fish breath through gills and have fins.

Five examples of each type are:

Mammals: Cheetah, dolphins, giraffe, squirrel, rabbit.

Birds: woodpecker, sparrow, kiwi, dove, fantail.

Reptiles: Snakes, sea turtle, crocodiles, lizards, chameleon

fish: salmon, eel, sharks, seahorses, stingray.

Amphibians: frogs, toad, salamander, newts, caecilian.