List of the Animals
- Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus)
- Impala (Aepyceros melampus)
- Spotted sandpiper (Actitis macularius)
- wood duck (Aix sponsa)
- yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti)
- polyphemus moth (Antheraea polyphemus)
- lined sea star (Luidia clathrata)
- Crown-of-thorn starfish (Acanthaster planci)
Characteristics of the animals listed above that classify them in Kingdom animalia
i. All eight are multicellular organisms
ii. Their cells contain cell membrane with no cell walls
iii. All eight are heterotrophic
iv. All eight can locomote
v. All eight are made up of Eukaryotic cells (Rao & Kaur, 2007)
Similar characteristics of a cheetah and an Impala
They are homeotherms in that their warm blooded
They are eutherians depicted by internal fertilization and the possession of placenta
Their bodies are covered with fur or hair made of keratin
(Goldberg, 2007)
Differences
Mode of feeding is different, cheetah largely depends on hunting and impala are grazers
the gestation periods of the two animals vary, with cheetah having a gestation period of 90-95 days and 194-200 days for impala
Classification into orders
- Cheetah- carnivora, characterized by
- Clawed toes
- Distinct dentition that enables them to pray and feed on flesh
- Leopard and tiger are species that fall under the same order.
- Impala- Artiodactyla, characterized by
- Ungulated or hoofed toes
- four distinct stomach chambers and
- Postorbital bar or process
- Deer and antelope are species that also fall under the same order.
Similar characteristic of both Spotted sandpiper and wood duck
They lay eggs
They are warm blooded
Their bodies are covered with feathers
(Rao & Kaur, 2007)
Differences
Their breeding habitats are different; spotted sandpiper breed in varied places ranging from dry land to wet places while wood duck breed swamps and ponds (Semenchuk, 1992).
Spotted sandpiper nests on the ground while the wood duck nest in trees cavum that are located near water (Semenchuk, 1992)
Classification into orders
Spotted sandpiper- charadriiformes, characterized by
Opportunistic carnivorous
They have short legs
Masked lawping and plovers are examples of species under this order.
(Semenchuk, 1992)
Wood duck- anseriformes characterized by
They are gregarious
Have webbed feet
Whooper swan and magpie goose are also classified under this order.
(Semenchuk, 1992)
Similar characteristics of both yellow fever mosquito and polyphemus moth
Both are invertebrates
They posses six legs
Their bodies are divided into head, thorax and abdomen
( Gullan & Cranston, 2010)
Difference
For the yellow fever mosquitoes, the mandibles are for blood sucking while for polyphemus moth are not
The polyphemus moth has got scaly wings while yellow fever mosquito a pair of wings, with the hind wings reduced to halters
(Gullan & Cranston, 2010)
Classification into order
Yellow fever mosquito-Diptera, characterized by,
A pair of wings on the mesothorax
A pair of halters
Gnats and midges are also type of species that fall under this order.
(Gullan & Cranston, 2010)
polyphemus moth-lepidoptera, characterized by,
Modification of scales to flattened hair, that in turn gives the color
membranous wings
Giant leopard moth and egg Sceliodes cordalis are species under this order.
(Gullan & Cranston, 2010)
Phylum Echinodermata
Similar characteristics of basket star and crown-of-thorns starfish
They are triploblastic coelomate animals
Their body is unsegmented
They possess calcareous exoskeleton made up of calcium carbonate
(Rao & Kaur, 2007)
Difference
The basket star is under the class ophiuroidea, while crown-of-thorns is under the sub-class Asteroidea
The basket star has many branched arms while the crown-of-thorns contain spikes
The profound habitat of basket star is majorly deep sea, while for the crown-of-thorn is reefs.
Classification into orders
Basket star (phrynophiurida); characterized by
The existence of bursae used for excretion
Ventral arms that are rudimentary
Brittle star and snake star are other examples under this order
Crown-of-thorn star fish-(valvatida); characterized by
Ossicles
Suckers
the existence of paxialle on the aboral surface
Other examples under this order include red knobbed fish and cushion star.
References
Goldberg, T. D. (2007). Barron's AP Biology (3rd ed). New York, NY: Barron Education Series, Inc.
Gullan, P. J. & Cranston, S. P. (2010). The Insects: An Outline of Entomology. West Susssex: John Wiley & sons, Ltd.
Rao, D. K. & Kaur, J.J. (2007). Living Science Biology 9. New Delhi: Ratna Sagar P. Ltd.
Semenchuk, P. G. (ed.). (1992). The Atlas of breeding birds of Alberta. Alberta: Federation of Alberta Naturalists.
