View —   it is a collection of individuals that are similar in structure, life processes, environmental requirements, able to freely interbreed in nature, produce prolific descendants and inhabit a certain territory.

Only in individual cases individuals of some species can mate with individuals of others and leave fertile offspring (for example, a dog and a wolf, a white and gray hare).

Scientific name   each type consists of two words in Latin, for example Felis silvestris   - European wild cat, Felis chaus   - reed cat .

In these species names, the first word denotes the name of the genus (always, capitalized), to which the species refers, and the second - specific name   (spelled with a lowercase letter). This species name is the same for scientists of all countries.

The use of common international scientific names of species allows to avoid misunderstandings.

For example, the May beetle is also called Khrushchev. However, the scientific name of this species is only one - Melolontha melolontha.

As in the systematics of plants or fungi, related animal species combine in childbirth. For example, European wild cat and reed cat species belong to the genus Cats. Close birth unites in families. For example, the genera Cats and Big Cats (this species includes such well-known species as the lion, tiger, leopard and jaguar) belong to the Feline family. In turn, close families are combined into groups. For example, the Feline and Wolf families are two families of the Predatory order. Close units make up the class. For example, the orders of Carnivorous, Pinniped, Rodents and others are classified as mammals. Close classes are combined into types. For example, the Mammals class and the Birds class are part of the Chordata type. The highest systematic category is the kingdom. For example, all types of animals are part of the Animal Kingdom.

On the basis of what systematic categories of the lowest rank (for example, species) are combined into categories of a higher rank (childbirth)? For this, scientists determine the degree of kinship between organisms, that is, the origin from a common ancestor. They study a variety of signs: structural features, vital processes, the ability to freely cross, similar chemical composition, cell structure, environmental requirements, etc.   Material from the site

Kingdom kingdoms Animals.Kingdom Animals are divided into two kingdoms: Single cell, or protozoa, and Multicellular. Unicellular organisms include animals whose body consists of one or a group of similar cells (colonial forms). Multicellular animals are considered to be sub-kingdoms, the body of which consists of many cells that differ in structural features and functions. Most of the representatives of this sub kingdom have various types of tissues and organs.

Animals, unlike plants, feed on prepared organic substances, i.e., heterotrophically. Animals, as a rule, are actively moving. Their cells lack a solid cell wall. Carbohydrates animals store in the form of glycogen. From 1.5 to 2 million species of animals are known.

Subdomain: Unicellular  (Protozoa). Animals, whose body consists of one cell, some form colonies. More than 50 thousand species are known.

Class: Flagellum, flagella  (Flagellata, Mastigiphora). Protozoa moving with the help of flagella. They stand on the verge of animal and plant kingdoms, combine the signs of plants and animals. Some are capable of photosynthesis (autotrophic nutrition). Reproduction is asexual.

Class: Sarcode  (Rhizopoda, Sarcodina). Protozoa moving with pseudopods (pseudopodia). Reproduction asexual (division).

Class: Ciliary Ciliates  (Ciliata, Ciliophora). Protozoa moving with cilia. Reproduction is asexual and sexual (conjugation).

Class: Sporoviki  (Sporozoa). The simplest, incapable of active movement. Reproduction is asexual and sexual. Pathogens of a number of dangerous diseases (malaria).

Subdomain: Multicellular  (Metazoa).

Type: Sponges  (Spongia, Porifera). Marine and freshwater organisms. Preserved many signs of a colony of protozoa. Water is filtered through the body of the sponges, from which the sponges receive food.

Sponges differ in the type of skeletal formations. In the class of calcareous sponges, the skeleton is made of calcareous needles (spicules), in the class of six-pointed sponges - from six-pointed flint spicules, in the class of ordinary sponges - from fibers of sponging protein or flint spicules of a different shape. The size of the sponges is up to 2 meters. In total, more than 3 thousand species are known.

Type: Intestinal, Creeping  (Coelenterata). Animals with radiation symmetry and a central digestive cavity. The body wall consists of two layers of cells, in the outer layer (ectoderm) there are stinging (nettle) cells. About 10 thousand species are known. They live in sea waters, some species - in fresh. The nervous system is diffuse. There is a mouth, the anus is absent.

There are single floating forms - jellyfish - and attached forms - polyps, usually colonial (corals). Generations of jellyfish and polyps alternate: jellyfish can bud from polyps, and their offspring form a new colony of polyps. Intestinal are divided into three classes: coral polyps (no jellyfish shape), scyphoid (the jellyfish form predominates) and hydroid (polyps and jellyfish).

Type: Nemerthine  (Nemertini). Free-living worms with a primitive circulatory system. Mostly live in the seas, some in fresh water, several species in moist soil. To grasp food use a special organ - the proboscis. Nemerthins have a complete digestive tract: starting with the mouth and ending with the anus. Length up to 20 cm, width up to 0.5 cm. In total, over 1000 species are known.

Grade: Multi-bristled  (Polychaeta). Sea animals with a large number of bristles. Diclinous, larva - trochophore.

Class: Small bristles  (Oligochaeta). Inhabitants of soil or fresh water. Hermaphrodite, no larval stage.

Class: Trilobites  (Trilobita). Fossil sea animals. Thrived in the Paleozoic period. They died out about 225 million years ago.

Class: Crustacean  (Crustacea). Mostly aquatic animals (crayfish, shrimp, sea ducks, daphnia, etc.), most of them live in salty waters. The body consists of the cephalothorax and abdomen. The larva is a nauplius or another. The head is equipped with two pairs of antennas. Breathe with the help of gills.

Class: Merostom  (Merostomata). The body consists of the cephalothorax and abdomen. A small group of surviving representatives of the once large class. The breath of the gills.

Class: Arachnids (Arachnida). Mostly terrestrial animals (spiders, scorpions and ticks), no larval forms. They have four pairs of walking legs; in adults, there are no antennas. Breathe either light or trachea.

Class: Millipedes  (Myriapoda). Mostly terrestrial animals, the body has a large number of segments with a pair of limbs on each. There are no larval forms. Breathing through the trachea.

Class: Insects  (Incesta). The most extensive and prosperous group of arthropods and animals in general. Mostly terrestrial organisms, the body is clearly divided into three departments: head, chest and abdomen. Three pairs of legs are attached to the chest. There is one pair of antennas. The only invertebrates equipped with wings (usually two pairs), however, there are also wingless species. Breathe through the trachea. In development, larval stages pass.

Type: Tentacle  (Tentaculata). Inhabitants of fresh and salt water. The mouth opening is surrounded by tentacles. They lead an attached lifestyle, often form colonies. Classes: bryozoans, brachopods and phoronids. In total, more than 5 thousand species are known.

Type: Shellfish  (Molluska). The second largest type of animal kingdom (more than 110 thousand species). Most of the mollusks are inhabitants of the seas; there are also freshwater and land species. The body is not segmented, it consists of the head, trunk and muscular organ - the legs. Usually the body is protected by a calcareous shell. The circulatory system is open. There are larval stages - trochophores.

Among the mollusks there are edible (oysters, squid). Some mollusks form pearls; mother-of-pearl is obtained from shells.

Class: gastropods  (Gastropoda). Water and land animals. The body has an asymmetric shape. The shell is solid, swirling. The head is equipped with eyes and sensitive tentacles. On-earth forms have lungs.

Class: Lamellar-Gill, Bicuspid  (Lamellibranchiata). Aquatic animals. The body has two-sided symmetry. The head is not developed. The sink consists of two wings. No tentacles. Respiratory organ - plate gills.

Class: Cephalopods  (Cephalopoda). Aquatic animals. The body has two-sided symmetry. Some species have shells divided into chambers. There are tentacles. Respiratory organ - gills. Cephalopods include the largest invertebrates - squids, up to 15 m long and weighing several tons. Highly developed nervous system, complex eyes.

Type: Echinoderms (Echinodermata). The inhabitants of the seas, mainly the bottom layer. The free-floating echinoderm larva (dipleurula) has bilateral symmetry, adult individuals - radiation. A distinctive feature of the structure of echinoderms is the water-vascular (ambulacral) system, which serves to move. There is a calcareous external skeleton. Over 6 thousand species are known. The size of an individual is up to 1 m. Among echinoderms, both free-living and sedentary (attached) organisms are found. Reproduction is usually sexual. Classes: starfish, sea urchins, sea lilies, ophiurs and holothurians.

Type: Chordates  (Chordata). The body of the chordates has bilateral symmetry, a dorsal neural tube and gill slits. A characteristic feature is the presence at one stage or another of the development of a chord - an elastic rod enclosed in a durable case. About 50 thousand species are known.

Subtype: Cranial, cephalic chordates  (Acrania). Small, up to 8 cm long, translucent animals that resemble fish in shape. The skull is missing. The body is divided into several segments. 13 species living in the seas are described. The chord extends from the front end of the body to the tip of the tail.

Subtype: Shell, tunics  (Tunicata). In adults, the body is enclosed in a cellulose shell - a tunic. Larvae are free-swimming, adults are sedentary. Chorda is present only in larvae (in appendiculars it remains in adulthood).

Grade: Ascidia  (Ascidiacea). Inhabitants of the seas, up to 30 cm in size. More than 2000 species are known. Often form colonies.

Class: Appendiculars  (Appendicularia). Inhabitants of the seas, up to 1 cm long. More than 100 species are known.

Subtype: Vertebrates  (Vertebrata). The most highly organized group of chordates. The nervous system is well developed, there is a brain. Internal skeleton - the chord is replaced by a cartilage or bone spine. There is a skull at the front end of the spine. Two pairs of limbs. About 40 thousand species are known.

Class: Fish  (Pisces). Inhabitants of fresh and salt waters, structure and behavior is determined by the aquatic way of life. The skin is covered with scales. Extremities paired: pectoral and ventral fins (sometimes absent). The organs of the lateral line are developed. Breathe with gills. The body has no constant temperature. Often there is a swimming bladder. Length reaches 12 meters. More than 20 thousand species are known.

Class: Amphibians, Amphibians (Amphibia). The skin is bare, moist, without scales, has many glands. The first vertebrates that mastered land. Fertilization, usually external, multiply in water (lay eggs). The heart is three-chambered (two atria and ventricle). Two pairs of five-fingered limbs. There are larval stages. Larvae breathe with gills, adults with lungs and skin. Units: legless, tailed and tailless. About 3.5 thousand species are known.

Class: Reptiles, Reptiles  (Reptilia). The skin is dry, covered with horny scales or bone scutes. Gills are absent, internal fertilization, no larval stages, reproduce on land. Breathe easy. Most reptiles have a three-chambered heart, and crocodiles have a four-chambered heart. Body temperature is unstable. Modern units: crocodiles, beak-headed, scaly (lizards and snakes), turtles. More than 8 thousand species are known.

Class: Birds  (Aves). The body is covered with feathers. The forelimbs are turned into wings. The structure and behavior developed under the influence of adaptation to flight. Fertilization is internal, there are no larval stages. Lay eggs. It takes care of the offspring. A constant body temperature is maintained. Four-chamber heart. About 9 thousand species are known.

The main units:  penguins, ostriches, nandus, cassowary, kiwi, chinamou, loons, grebes, petrels, copepods, ankle, flamingos, anseriformes, carnivorous, chicken, crane-like, charadriiformes, pigeon-like, parrots, cuckoo birds mice, trogons, crayfish, woodpeckers, passerines.

Class: Mammals, animals  (Mammalia). The body is covered with hair, there are skin glands. A characteristic feature: mammary glands, designed for feeding cubs with milk. Paired five-fingered limbs. Viviparous (with the exception of the platypus and echidna, laying eggs), internal fertilization. There are no larval stages. Developed care for offspring. Four-chamber heart, pulmonary breathing. A constant body temperature is maintained. About 4 thousand species are known.

Squads: ovipositing, marsupial, insectivorous, woolly, bats, edentulous, lizards, lagomorphs, rodents, carnivores, pinnipeds, cetaceans, aardvarks, proboscis, damans, sea cows, artiodactyls, artiodactyls, primates.

Introduction to Zoology

Zoology - The science of animals, their diversity, structure, behavior, reproduction, development, origin, as well as the importance in nature and human life. The word "zoology" comes from two Greek words: "zoon" - an animal, "logos" - a doctrine.

The animal and plant worlds are integral and closely interconnected parts of the organic nature that surrounds us. There is much in common between plant and animal organisms: their bodies are composed of cells, representatives of one or the other are characterized by irritability, metabolism, growth, reproduction, heredity, variability, internal regulation. This testifies to the common origin of the flora and fauna of our Planet.

The main features of the difference between animals and plants are shown in Table 1.

Table 1

There is a lot of evidence that all the inhabitants of the Earth came from one common root - the primary living organisms, the development of which led to the formation on Earth of various groups of organisms - the kingdoms of plants, animals, mushrooms, nodules and viruses.

The animal kingdom includes two kingdoms – unicellular  and multicellular  and more than 20 types of  animals (some of which are given in Table2). Currently, the modern natural system of the animal world includes about 2 million species of animals, which differ in their size, lifestyle, structure and origin. Some of them are adapted to life on land, others in water, still others in the air, and others have chosen other organisms for life. Conventionally, all of them are divided into two large groups: invertebrates  and vertebrates.

table 2

The animal kingdom is usually divided into a number of mutually subordinate systematic units ( taxa), the main (smallest) of which will be view.  Species similar in characteristics, and therefore similar in origin, are combined into childbirth, childbirth - in familyfamilies in detachment, units - in the classclasses in types (see diagram 1). In addition to these basic intermediate systematic units are often used: subtypes, subclasses, superorders  and others (in more detail with systematic groups you can get acquainted with the study of animal types).

Animal kingdom  very diverse, it is the most numerous, has about 2 million species. Animals living on Earth are diverse in size and body shape: this is a blue whale, whose mass reaches 150 thousand tons, and a microscopic unicellular amoeba.

Despite the differences in shapes and sizes, all animals have common features - the cellular structure and the ability to eat, breathe, grow, develop and reproduce - like other living organisms, but animals have special features that are not characteristic of other organisms.

Animals have the following differences from plants and fungi:

• They feed on prepared organic substances.
• Not capable of photosynthesis.
• The vast majority of animals are able to move and make various active movements.
• Most animals have organ systems: digestive, respiratory, nervous, excretory, musculoskeletal.

Animals  there are unicellular and multicellular. Multicellular animals  They form the largest group of living organisms on the planet, with more than 1.5 million living species. One of the most important features of their organization is the morphological and functional difference of body cells. Separation occurred between cells during evolution, which allowed them to more effectively fulfill their functions. Different tissues combined into organs, and organs into corresponding organ systems. To implement the relationship between them and coordinate their work, regulatory systems - the nervous and endocrine - were formed. Thanks to the control over the activity of all systems, a multicellular organism works as a whole.

Multicellular animals  have larger sizes. To provide nutrients, they form a digestive canal, which allows them to swallow large food particles that supply a large amount of energy. For their cleavage, digestive glands secrete enzymes. The developed musculoskeletal system ensured the maintenance of a certain body shape, protection and support for organs, as well as the active movement of a multicellular animal in space. Thanks to this ability, animals were able to search for food, find shelter and settle.

With an increase in the size of the body, the need arose for systems to fulfill the role of delivering nutrients and oxygen to cells and tissues remote from the digestive canal and body surface, as well as removing metabolic products from them. So the circulatory, respiratory and excretory systems arise.

The main transport function began to play a liquid connective tissue - blood. The intensification of respiratory activity went in parallel with the progressive development of the nervous system and sensory organs. There was a movement of the central parts of the nervous system to the front end of the body, as a result of which the head section was isolated. This body structure allowed the animal to receive information about changes in the environment and to adequately respond to them. Multicellular animals reproduce mainly through sexual contact, in primitive multicellular animals - vegetative and asexual reproduction. Parthenogenesis (same-sex, virgin reproduction) occurs in some animals.

Based on the absence or presence of an internal skeleton, animals are divided into two groups: invertebrates and vertebrates. Multicellular animals, as a rule, are characterized by symmetry of the body structure. In gastrocnemius, the symmetry is radial, two-sided symmetry allows animals to actively move rectilinearly, maintaining equilibrium, and with equal ease turn right and left.

The most highly organized animals are birds and mammals.

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