Portal:Animals

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The Animals Portal

Animal diversity.png

insects—but it has been estimated there are over 7 million animal species in total. Animals range in length from 8.5 micrometres (0.00033 in) to 33.6 metres (110 ft). They have complex interactions with each other and their environments, forming intricate food webs. The scientific study of animals is known as zoology
.

Most living animal species are in

fossil record as marine species during the Cambrian explosion, which began around 539 million years ago. 6,331 groups of genes common to all living animals have been identified; these may have arisen from a single common ancestor that lived 650 million years ago
.

Historically, Aristotle divided animals into those with blood and those without. Carl Linnaeus created the first hierarchical biological classification for animals in 1758 with his Systema Naturae, which Jean-Baptiste Lamarck expanded into 14 phyla by 1809. In 1874, Ernst Haeckel divided the animal kingdom into the multicellular Metazoa (now synonymous with Animalia) and the Protozoa, single-celled organisms no longer considered animals. In modern times, the biological classification of animals relies on advanced techniques, such as molecular phylogenetics, which are effective at demonstrating the evolutionary relationships between taxa. (Full article...)

classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct, and how they interact with their ecosystems. The term is derived from Ancient Greek ζῷον, zōion ('animal'), and λόγος, logos ('knowledge', 'study'). (Full article...
)

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articles, which meet a core set of high editorial standards.


Galapagos giant tortoise Geochelone elephantopus.jpg

The

vertebrates. Captive Galapagos tortoises can live up to 177 years. For example, a captive individual, Harriet, lived for at least 175 years. Spanish explorers, who discovered the islands in the 16th century, named them after the Spanish galápago
, meaning "tortoise".

Galápagos tortoises are native to seven of the
Galápagos Islands. Shell size and shape vary between subspecies and populations. On islands with humid highlands, the tortoises are larger, with domed shells and short necks; on islands with dry lowlands, the tortoises are smaller, with "saddleback" shells and long necks. Charles Darwin's observations of these differences on the second voyage of the Beagle in 1835, contributed to the development of his theory of evolution. (Full article...)

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Left to right, top to bottom: tiger (Panthera tigris), Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis), serval (Leptailurus serval), cougar (Puma concolor), fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus), Asian golden cat (Catopuma temminckii), ocelot (Leopardus pardalis), and European wildcat
(Felis silvestris)
Felidae is a family of mammals in the order Carnivora, colloquially referred to as cats. A member of this family is called a felid. The term "cat" refers both to felids in general and specifically to domestic cats. The characteristic features of cats have evolved to support a carnivorous lifestyle, with adaptations for ambush or stalking and short pursuit hunting. They have slender muscular bodies, strong flexible forelimbs and retractable claws for holding prey, dental and cranial adaptations for a strong bite, and often have characteristic striped or spotted coat patterns for camouflage. (Full article...)
List of selected articles


Phyllodesmium kabiranum.jpg
  • ...that six new species of marine slugs in the genus Phyllodesmium (Sp. kabiranum pictured) have been described in the last two years?
  • ...that
    Maui's dolphin
    is the most endangered species of dolphin in the world, with only about 110 left?
  • ...that the land snail Euglandina rosea is a significant threat to Hawaiian freshwater snail known as Newcomb's snail (Erinna newcombi), because the predatory Euglandina is able to hunt Erinna under water?
  • ...that the body of the "
    X-ray fish" (Pristella maxillaris ) is so transparent that it is possible to see its backbone
    ?
  • ...that even though the lancelets are classified as chordates, they lack a true backbone and well-defined head?


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The following table lists estimated numbers of described extant species for the animal groups with the largest numbers of species,[1] along with their principal habitats (terrestrial, fresh water,[2] and marine),[3] and free-living or parasitic ways of life.[4] Species estimates shown here are based on numbers described scientifically; much larger estimates have been calculated based on various means of prediction, and these can vary wildly. For instance, around 25,000–27,000 species of nematodes have been described, while published estimates of the total number of nematode species include 10,000–20,000; 500,000; 10 million; and 100 million.[5] Using patterns within the taxonomic hierarchy, the total number of animal species—including those not yet described—was calculated to be about 7.77 million in 2011.[6][7][a]

Phylum Example No. of
Species
Land
Sea
Fresh
water
Free-
living
Parasitic
Annelids
Nerr0328.jpg
17,000[1] Yes (soil)[3] Yes[3] 1,750[2] Yes 400[4]
Arthropods
wasp
1,257,000[1] 1,000,000
(insects)[9]
>40,000
(Malac-
ostraca)[10]
94,000[2] Yes[3] >45,000[b][4]
Bryozoa
Bryozoan at Ponta do Ouro, Mozambique (6654415783).jpg
6,000[1] Yes[3] 60–80[2] Yes
Chordates
green spotted frog facing right
65,000[1]
45,000[11]

23,000[11]

13,000[11]
18,000[2]
9,000[11]
Yes 40
(catfish)[12][4]
Cnidaria
Table coral
16,000[1] Yes[3] Yes (few)[3] Yes[3] >1,350
(Myxozoa)[4]
Echinoderms
Starfish, Caswell Bay - geograph.org.uk - 409413.jpg
7,500[1] 7,500[1] Yes[3]
Molluscs
snail
85,000[1]
107,000[13]

35,000[13]

60,000[13]
5,000[2]
12,000[13]
Yes[3] >5,600[4]
Nematodes
CelegansGoldsteinLabUNC.jpg
25,000[1] Yes (soil)[3] 4,000[5] 2,000[2] 11,000[5] 14,000[5]
Platyhelminthes
Pseudoceros dimidiatus.jpg
29,500[1] Yes[14] Yes[3] 1,300[2] Yes[3]

3,000–6,500[15]

>40,000[4]

4,000–25,000[15]

Rotifers
20090730 020239 Rotifer.jpg
2,000[1] >400[16] 2,000[2] Yes
Sponges
A colourful Sponge on the Fathom.jpg
10,800[1] Yes[3] 200-300[2] Yes Yes[17]
Total number of described extant species as of 2013: 1,525,728[1]

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References

  1. ^ The application of DNA barcoding to taxonomy further complicates this; a 2016 barcoding analysis estimated a total count of nearly 100,000 insect species for Canada alone, and extrapolated that the global insect fauna must be in excess of 10 million species, of which nearly 2 million are in a single fly family known as gall midges (Cecidomyiidae).[8]
  2. ^ Not including parasitoids.[4]