Animals are multicellular organisms belonging to the biological kingdom Animalia. They have multicellular bodies, respire oxygen, move, and reproduce sexually. There are numerous different types of animals. Let’s take a closer look at what makes them different from each other. In this article, we’ll talk about classification, basic physical characteristics, and cognitive abilities.
Classification
In general, animals are multicellular organisms with the ability to move and eat other living organisms. The term animal is derived from the Latin word anima, which means soul. In a broader sense, animals comprise the entire Kingdom Animalia. For example, there are mammals, birds, and fish.
There are approximately nine to ten million different species on earth. Each species has its own unique features that define it. The first word of an animal’s Latin name is its genus, while the second word identifies the species. The process of classifying animals based on their physical characteristics is called taxonomy. Invented by botanist Carl Linnaeus in the 18th century, the classification system today is used by biologists to organize diversity in the animal kingdom.
Basic physical characteristics
An animal’s body is made up of a variety of basic physical characteristics. Most of these characteristics are shared among animals. For example, an animal’s cells have a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles. Unlike human cells, which have rigid cell walls that constrain their movement, animal cells are flexible and have specialized shapes. This allows animals to move and avoid dangers in their environment.
Another basic characteristic of an animal is its ability to sense the environment. This is accomplished by the sensory organs in their bodies. There are about 50,000 species of vertebrates, which are grouped into nine classes. These include birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals. Each class has unique features, but most animals share a basic set of characteristics.
Cognitive abilities
Animals can display a variety of cognitive abilities, which may help explain the evolution of their behavior and environment. For example, birds like the Clark’s nutcracker can remember the location of seeds and store them for the winter and spring. Humans are thought to possess some of the most sophisticated cognitive abilities, including the ability to use tools, but many nonhuman species are known to demonstrate such abilities.
Animals have developed complex ways to distinguish among stimulus classes. They can also use cues to select mates. Peahens, for example, can assess whether their potential mates have more or fewer eye spots than they do. Many group-living animals rely on this ability to distinguish between different groups. Black howler monkeys can judge the size of a troop by how loud their members are by their howling, enabling them to avoid dangerous encounters with larger troops.
Evolution
Evolution of animal behaviors is an important aspect of evolution. It allows animals to improve their fitness and survival through sharing of common habits. For example, wolves hunt in packs, which helps increase the chances of each individual surviving and obtaining food. Pack hunting also allows wolves to increase the number of genes that are passed down to their offspring.
Early arthropods developed an exoskeleton, a non-bony skeleton that supports the body and provides a means to counterbalance muscles when they contract. The presence of an exoskeleton also helped them retain water. Another important adaptation was the ability to breathe oxygen without gills. Also read nosynation.com
Moral status
The idea that non-human animals have a moral status is a relatively new idea. Its proponents, such as Peter Singer, trace the notion back to his 1975 book ‘Animal Liberation.’ The problem with this view is that it does not resolve the ethical problems posed by the use of animals for research or other purposes. As a result, animal lovers tend to say that animals have a moral status but don’t go any further than that. This consequentialist approach to the issue does not argue that animals have rights, but it does allow for ethical conflicts between humans and animals.
The basic question of how to determine the moral status of an animal is whether it has any self-awareness. In the case of humans, it is difficult to use self-awareness to establish its moral status.
Instincts
Instincts are the behaviours of an animal that are triggered by the environment without conscious reasoning. These behaviors occur in all members of a species without requiring prior knowledge and are known as innate behaviors. Instincts are usually beneficial for the biological well-being of the animal.
For example, an animal’s behaviour towards its mate may differ from its behaviour towards the same thing in the past. This is because the behaviour in the presence of a mate is not learned. Moreover, the behaviour of an animal may not change if the animal has never come across the same situation before.
