10A: Characteristics of Animals

What is an Animal?

Animals are multicellular eukaryotic organisms that are consumers and typically have specialized cells organized into tissues, organs, and systems.

Zoologist

A scientist who studies animals.

Characteristics of Animals

Common traits include being made of eukaryotic cells, being consumers, having the ability to move at some point in their lives, and generally reproducing sexually.

Symmetry

The property of being able to divide an organism into mirror-image halves, including types like bilateral, radial, and asymmetry.

Bilateral Symmetry

A type of symmetry where the body can be divided into two identical halves along a midline.

Cephalization

The clustering of sense organs and a brain at one end of the body, typically the head.

Complete Guts

Refers to a digestive tract that has two openings, allowing for more complex digestion.

Incomplete Guts

Refers to a digestive tract that has only one opening.

Notochord

A flexible rod found in chordate animals, which often develops into a backbone.

Chordates

Animals that possess a notochord at some stage of their development.

Vertebrates

Animals with a backbone that protects their spinal cord.

Invertebrates

Animals that never possess a notochord.

Endotherms

Animals that can regulate their inner body temperature.

Ectotherms

Animals that cannot regulate their inner body temperature.

Carolus Linnaeus

The scientist whose modern classification system laid the foundations for classifying organisms, reflecting biblical beliefs.

Baraminology

The effort to define the boundaries between various created kinds of animals.