FISH Traditional classification divide fish into three extant classes, and with extinct forms sometimes classified

within the tree, sometimes as their own classes:

[6][7]

Class Agnatha (jawless fish)

Subclass Cyclostomata (hagfish and lampreys) Subclass Ostracodermi (armoured jawless fish)

Class Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish) Subclass Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) Subclass Holocephali (chimaeras and extinct relatives)

Class Placodermi (armoured fish) Class Acanthodii ("spiny sharks", sometimes classified under bony fishes) Class Osteichthyes (bony fish)

Subclass Actinopterygii (ray finned fishes) Subclass Sarcopterygii (fleshy finned fishes, ancestors of tetrapods) AMPHIBIANS

The word "Amphibian" is derived from the Ancient Greek term (amphbios), which means "both kinds of life", meaning "of both kinds" and meaning "life". The term was initially used as a general adjective for animals that could live on land or in water, including seals and otters.[11] Traditionally, the class Amphibia includes all tetrapod vertebrates that are not amniotes. Amphibia in its widest sense (sensu lato) was divided into three subclasses, two of which are extinct:[12] Subclass Labyrinthodontia (diverse Paleozoic and early Mesozoic group) Subclass Lepospondyli (small Paleozoic group, sometimes included in the Labyrinthodontia, which may actually be more closely related to amniotes than Lissamphibia) Subclass Lissamphibia (all modern amphibians, including frogs, toads, salamanders, newts and caecilians) Order Anura (frogs and toads): Jurassic to present5,602 current species in 48 families Order Caudata or Urodela (salamanders, newts): Jurassic to present571 current species in 10 families Order Gymnophiona or Apoda (caecilians): Jurassic to present190 current species in 10 families

CHARACTERISTICS OF AMPHIBIANS Amphibians are members of the class Amphibia, subphylum Vertebrata, phylum Chordata. The class Amphibia includes frogs, toads, salamanders, newts and caecilians. Amphibians are characterized by a glandular skin without external scales, by gills during development (and in adulthood in some), and by eggs that may have jelly coats but develop without formation of extraembryonic membranes such as the amnion. Most amphibians also have four limbs. Limbs and lungs are adaptations for life on land; the limbs evolved from the ancestral fishes' lobed fins. The scales and amniote egg evolved by reptiles are further adaptations for life on land and distinguish reptiles from amphibians. Amphibians, such as frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and gymnophiona, are cold-blooded animals that metamorphose from a juvenile, water-breathing form to an adult, air-breathing form. Typically, amphibians have four limbs. Unlike other land animals (amniotes), amphibians lay eggs in water, as their fish ancestors did. Amphibians are superficially similar to reptiles. webbed feet and cold blooded Types of Reptiles Living reptiles are classified in four orders. The turtles, order Chelonia, have a protective bony shell, usually covered with horny plates. They are mostly aquatic in habits although some (see tortoise) are adapted to land. They are the oldest living reptiles, having existed nearly unchanged since the Triassic period. Members of the order Crocodilia, which includes alligators, caimans, crocodiles, and gavials, are large, carnivorous reptiles of tropical and subtropical swamps and rivers. They constitute the only remaining order of the great reptilian subclass Archosauria, or ruling reptiles, which includes the extinct dinosaurs. The order Squamata includes the lizards (suborder Sauria) and snakes (suborder Serpentes). Nearly all members of this large and successful modern order are terrestrial. The order Rhynchocephalia has a single living member, the tuatara, a lizardlike reptile of New Zealand. Reptile Characteristics Reptiles are vertebrates (with a backbone), which can breathe air and are cold-blooded (cannot regulate body temperature). They are considered as tetrapods (with four legs or leg-like appendages), even though legs are absent in some of these animals, like snakes. Their bodies are covered with scales or scutes and they lay amniotic eggs (embryos develop inside amniotic membranes) on land. They share the characteristics of both amphibians and mammals, but are different and unique. For example, their skin is unique in the sense that it lacks feathers, as in the case of birds; it does not have hair, like that of mammals and it is not moist as in amphibians. One of the unique characteristics of reptiles is their skin, which is tough and scaly. The following are some of the reptile characteristics. As mentioned earlier, reptiles have a dry skin with scales or scutes. The skin has a few cutaneous glands and high levels of keratin, which prevents water loss through the skin. The scales and scutes, are formed from the epidermis and are also made of keratin, to protect the body. These animals are considered tetrapods with two sets of paired limbs. Most of these animals have five clawed toes on each limb. These muscular appendages are angled downward to facilitate faster locomotion. In some reptiles, like snakes and worm lizards, the legs are absent, but it is believed that these animals evolve from some tetrapod ancestor. All reptiles have spinal columns and a strong skeletal system with a rib cage. They have a well-developed brain and a central nervous system. A pelvic region with a minimum of two spinal bones is also seen in most of these animals. Unlike amphibians, reptiles do not pass through an embryonic stage with gills. These animals breath with well-developed lungs, right from birth. Most of them have two lungs, except some snakes, which possess only a single lung. They don't possess gills and even cutaneous respiration is very negligible. All reptiles have three-chambered hearts, except crocodiles, which have four-chambered hearts (2 atria, 2 ventricles), like mammals and birds. The three chambers consist of two atria to receive blood and one partially divided ventricle for pumping blood. Reptiles have a digestive system, which is similar to other vertebrates, but the gut, the ducts of urinary and sexual organs lead to one posterior chamber, called the 'cloaca', which has a muscular opening at the base of the tail. In case of those, who inhabit arid regions, water is further absorbed into the body from the waste in the cloaca and only the remaining waste is excreted. As far as reproduction is concerned, reptiles are unique, because they are the first animals with amniotic eggs, that can be laid on land and not in water. These amniotic eggs can survive without water, as they have protective shells and membranes, that allow oxygen and other gases to enter. Most of the reptiles lay eggs, but some of them give birth to young ones, by hatching the eggs inside the body of the mother. Reptile characteristics include internal fertilization, as sperm gets deposited into the reproductive tract of the female directly. The offspring of reptiles resemble the adults at the time of birth itself. There is no metamorphosis, as in the case of amphibians. Being cold-blooded, their body temperature vary with the surrounding atmosphere. Like in mammals, the

body temperature of reptiles is not regulated by internal mechanisms. So they have to maintain the body temperature by basking in the sun. This is the reason behind the presence of many reptiles in arid regions, like deserts. However, they can be seen in different habitats and if the temperature levels are not favorable, some of the reptiles prefer hibernation too. Physical characteristics of reptiles include their keen sense organs, which help them to find food and escape from predators. Eyes are one of the most important sense organ and in most reptiles, these organs are located at the front of the head to facilitate binocular vision. While most of the different types of lizards can move each eye independently, some of them have a protective cover above the eyes. Most of them don't have external ears and the eardrum is located near the eyes. types of birds The characteristics that qualify birds are:

All birds have wings, but not all birds fly: generally, there is reduction of skeletal weight Birds have beaks or bills, and do not have teeth Birds have two legs Birds have a cloaca, a cavity into which the intestinal, urinary, and genital canals empty Birds have nucleated red blood cells, unlike mammals Birds have a chambered heart

warm blooded (endothermic) vertebrates (they have a backbone and an internal skeleton) breathe using lungs (not gills) an outer covering of feathers - this feature is not shared with any other vertebrate group reproduce by laying eggs Other features which are characteristics of birds, but not used to set them apart from other vertebrate groups, include: Birds

MAMMALS Most mammals are also characterised by the following anatomical features: - Egg development occurs in the uterus (excluding monotremata) - They have sweat glands - A single jaw bone - Diaphragm - Three bones for a middle ear - Give birth to young alive - Feeds milk to its young - Has hair on its body

- A flexible neck with seven cervical vertebrae - Mammals also show enhanced neocortex development - Sound is produced by the larynx (a modified region of the trachea) - limbs are oriented vertically - The mammalian heart has 4 chambers - Internal temperature is generally high TYPES OF MAMMALS
1

Earth has a large variety of animals living on it. Scientists classify animals into groups based on common characteristics. Mammals are a group of animals (vertebrates) that have backbones and hair or fur. They are warm-blooded (endothermic), and they have four-chambered hearts. They also feed their young with milk from the mother's body. The young of most mammals are born alive. Mammals have about six thousand different species, or kinds, of animals in their group or class. Mammals can be divided into three more groups based on how their babies develop. These three groups are monotremes, marsupials, and the largest group, placental mammals.

Monotremes are mammals that lay eggs. The only monotremes that are alive today are the spiny anteater, or echidna, and the platypus. They live in Australia, Tasmania, and New Guinea. These mammals are really different from other mammals. Their body temperature is lower than most warm-blooded animals, a feature that has more in common with reptiles. Their name comes from the fact that they have only one body opening for both wastes and eggs to pass through. Echidnas have sharp spines scattered throughout their hair. They look like a spiky ball. The female anteater lays usually one leathery-shelled egg directly into the pouch on her belly. The egg hatches after only ten or eleven days. The newborn baby is tiny, about the size of a dime. After the baby hatches, it stays in the pouch for several weeks and continues to develop. Babies are fed by their mother's milk that seeps out of pores on her skin. When the babies are six to eight weeks old, they grow spines that begin to irritate the mother anteater. She then scratches the baby out of her pouch.