Virtual Animal Kingdom

1. Virtual Animal Kingdom

2. Introduction • Organisms that belong to kingdom animalia are the most divers in form. They live in almost all parts of the earth. Just like other living things, animals need foods and habitat in order for them to survive.

3. The Different Habitat

4. LAND

5. WATER

6. AIR

7. Examples of Animals that living in the WATER

8. fish Frog Crocodile

9. Examples of Animals that living in the AIR

10. Hawk Black crows Bald Eagle

11. Examples of animals that living in the LAND

12. Monkey Elephant Tiger

13. Reflection • Animal species are the foundation of healthy ecosystem. We human depend on ecosystem, when species became endangered, it is an indicator that the health of these vital ecosystem is beginning to unravel. • The animals of the world exist for their own reasons. They were not made for humans any more than black for white, or woman created for man.

14. References • En.wikipedia.org/wiki/habitat • Resources.edb.gov.hk • www.canisius.edu • Animals.about.com • Simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/habitat

15. Frogs are a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anural (Ancient Greek an-, without + oura, tail). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" appeared in the early Triassic of Madagascar, but molecular clock dating suggests their origins may extend further back to the Permian, 265 million years ago. Frogs are widely distributed, ranging from the tropics to subarctic regions, but the greatest concentration of species diversity is found in tropical rainforests. There are approximately 4,800 recorded species, accounting for over 85% of extant amphibian species. They are also one of the five most diverse vertebrate orders. • The body plan of an adult frog is generally characterized by a stout body, protruding eyes, cleft tongue, limbs folded underneath and the absence of a tail. Besides living in fresh water and on dry land, the adults of some species are adapted for living underground or in trees. The skin of the frog is glandular, with secretions ranging from distasteful to toxic. Warty species of frog tend to be called toads. Frog warts are elevations in the skin where glandular toxins tend to concentrate. The distinction between frogs and toads is based on informal naming conventions concentrating on the warts rather than taxonomy or evolutionary history; some toads are more closely related to frogs than other toads. Frogs' skins vary in color from well-camouflaged dappled brown, grey and green to vivid patterns of bright red or yellow and black to advertise toxicity and warn off predators. continue

16. Frogs typically lay their eggs in water. The eggs hatch into aquatic larvae, called tadpoles, that have tails and internal gills. They have highly specialized rasping mouth parts suitable for herbivorous, omnivorous or planktivorous diets. The life cycle is completed when they metamorphose into adults. A few species deposit eggs on land or bypass the tadpole stage. Adult frogs generally have a carnivorous diet consisting of small invertebrates, but omnivorous species exist and a few feed on fruit. Frogs are extremely efficient at converting what they eat into body mass, which makes them an important food source for predators. Frogs are a keystone group in the food web dynamics of many of the world's ecosystems. The skin is semi-permeable, making them susceptible to dehydration, so they either live in moist places or have special adaptations to deal with dry habitats. Frogs produce a wide range of vocalizations, particularly in their breeding season, and exhibit many different kinds of complex behaviors to attract mates, to fend off predators and to generally survive. • Frog populations have declined significantly since the 1950s. More than one third of species are considered to be threatened with extinction and over one hundred and twenty are believed to have become extinct since the 1980s. The number of malformations among frogs is on the rise and an emerging fungal disease,chytridiomycosis, has spread around the world. Conservation biologists are working to understand the causes of these problems and to resolve them. Frogs are valued as food by humans and also have many cultural roles in literature, symbolism and religion. back

17. 2. To "cry crocodile tears" is a common expression which is used for depicting fake sadness. It has its origins in the myth according to which reptiles weep while eating humans. But, believe it or not, crocodiles really do wipe while feasting, but rather due to physiological reasons than remorse. Their eyes can froth and bubble during the feeding. Air pushed through the sinuses could mix with tears in the animal's lacrimal (tear) glands and the whole content could be emptied into the eye; resulting the "fake" remorse. 3. Crocodile skin is considered one of the finest and best, being soft and durable. In many tribal societies, skin crocodile is used as a symbol of high status. But only the skin on the belly has these qualities; the back skin is covered in bones (called osteoderms) that reflects arrows, spears and even bullets!A crocodile skin purse can cost $ 15,000. The value of the crocodile • skin has been fueling an intense poaching and today many of the 23 species of crocodiles and relatives are threatened, many populations being wiped out. The salvation of the crocodiles could come from the crocodile farms. back

18. The term fish is used to refer to any aquatic vertebrate that has a skin covered with scales, two sets of paired fins, some unpaired fins, and a set of gills. Fish do not represent a single clade but are instead paraphyletic. They include hagfishes, lampreys, lobe-finned fishes, cartilaginous fishes and ray-finned fishes. Most fish are cold-blooded animals that have a streamlined body that is adapted for efficient movement in water. There are exceptions to both of these rules though. Tuna, swordfish and a few shark species are warm-blooded, not cold-blooded. Rays are flat-bodied fish that not streamlined. They move through the water at a slower pace by undulating their broad pectoral fins. back

19. A monkey is a primate of the Haplorrhini suborder and simian infraorder, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey, but excluding apes and humans. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys usually have tails. Tailless monkeys may be called "apes", incorrectly according to modern usage; thus the tailless Barbary macaque is called the "Barbary ape". • The New World monkeys (superfamily Ceboidea) are classified within the parvorder of Platyrrhini, whereas the Old World monkeys (superfamily Cercopithecoidea) form part of the parvorder Catarrhini, which also includes the hominoids (apes, including humans). Thus, as Old World monkeys are more closely related to hominoids than they are to New World monkeys, the monkeys are not a unitary (monophyletic) group. back

20. Elephants are large mammals of the family Elephantidae and the order Proboscidea. Traditionally, two species are recognized, the African elephant(Loxodonta africana) and the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), although some evidence suggests that African bush elephants and African forest elephants are separate species (L. africana and L. cyclotis respectively). Elephants are scattered throughout sub-Saharan Africa, and South and Southeast Asia. They are the only surviving proboscideans; extinct species include mammoths and mastodons. The largest living terrestrial animals, male African elephants can reach a height of 4 m (13 ft) and weigh 7,000 kg (15,000 lb). These animals have several distinctive features, including a long proboscis or trunk used for many purposes, particularly for grasping objects. Their incisors grow into tusks, which serve as tools for moving objects and digging and as weapons for fighting. The elephant's large ear flaps help to control the temperature of its body. African elephants have larger ears and concave backs while Asian elephants have smaller ears and convex or level backs. • Elephants are herbivorous and can be found in different habitats including savannahs, forests, deserts and marshes. They prefer to stay near water. They are considered to be keystone species due to their impact on their environments. Other animals tend to keep their distance, and predators such as lions, tigers, hyenas and wild dogs usually target only the young elephants (or "calves"). Females ("cows") tend to live in family groups, which can consist of one female with her calves or several related females with offspring. The groups are led by an individual known as the matriarch, often the oldest cow. Elephants have a fission-fusion society in which multiple family groups come together to socialize. Males ("bulls") leave their family groups when they reach puberty, and may live alone or with other males. Adult bulls mostly interact with family groups when looking for a mate and enter a state of increased testosterone and aggression known as must, which helps them gain dominance and reproductive success. Calves are the centre of attention in their family groups and rely on their mothers for as long as three years. Elephants can live up to 70 years in the wild. They communicate by touch, sight, smell and sound; elephants use infrasound, and seismic communication over long distances. Elephant intelligence has been compared with that of primates and cetaceans. They appear to have self-awareness and show empathy for dying or dead individuals of their kind. • African elephants are listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature(IUCN), while the Asian elephant is classed as endangered. One of the biggest threats to elephant populations .is the ivory trade, as the animals are poached for their ivory tusks. Other threats to wild elephants include habitat destruction and conflicts with local people. Elephants are used as working animals in Asia. In the past they were used in war; today, they are often put on display in zoos and circuses. Elephants are highly recognizable and have been featured in art, folklore, religion, literature and popular culture. back

21. The Tiger has a long body, a short neck, and a firm head with a short muzzle that contains a set of sharp teeth. Tigers have stout legs that end in broad paws. A well fed tiger is bulky, broad in the shoulders, back, and loins. Males are generally longer and heavier than females. The average length for males is about 6 feet long and with a tail length of 3 feet long. Females are usually 6 to 12 inches shorter in body length. • A tiger's fur color varies from orange-red to tawny yellow, with a lot of black stripes that have different lengths and widths. The cheeks, throat, and the insides of the ears and legs are white. The back of the ear is black with a white spot in the center. back

22. Hawk is a common name for some birds of prey, widely distributed and varying greatly in size. • In Australia and Africa hawks include some of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the generaAccipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchisand Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks ,sparrow hawks, the Sharp-shinned Hawk and others. These are mainly woodland birds with long tails and high visual acuity, hunting by sudden dashes from a concealed perch. • In the Americas (and other areas) the term includes small to medium-sized members of the Accipitridae—the family which includes the "true hawks" as well as eagles,kites, harriers and buzzards. • Owls are members of the order Strigiformes and are not hawks. • Immature Northern Goshawk with fresh kill • Hawk sighted in Toronto in front of theFields Institute. • The common names of some birds include the term "hawk", reflecting traditional usage rather than taxonomy, such as referring to an Osprey as a "fish hawk" or the ButeospeciesB. jamaicensis as a Red-tailed Hawk. back

23. Crows (/kroʊ/) are members of a widely distributed genus of birds, Corvus, in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-size jackdaws(Eurasian and Daurian) to the Common Raven of the Holarctic region and Thick-billed Raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents except for South America, and several islands. In Europe the word "crow" is used to refer to the Carrion Crow or the Hooded Crow, while in North America it is used for the American Crow or the Northwestern Crow. • The crow genus makes up a third of the species in the Corvidae family. Crows appear to have evolved in Asia from the corvid stock, which had evolved in Australia. The collective name for a group of crows is a flock or a murder.[1] • Recent research has found some crow species capable of not only tool use but also tool construction[2] and meta-tool use. Crows are now considered to be among the world's most intelligent animals[3] with an encephalization quotient approaching that of some apes. The Jackdaw and the European Magpie have been found to have a nidopallium approximately the same relative size as the functionally equivalent neocortex in chimpanzees and humans, and significantly larger than is found in the. back

24. The Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus; hali = sea, aeetus = eagle,leuco = white, cephalis = head) is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla). Its range includes most of Canada and Alaska, all of the contiguous United States, and northern Mexico. It is found near large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply and old-growth trees for nesting. • The Bald Eagle is an opportunistic feeder which subsists mainly on fish, which it swoops down and snatches from the water with its talons. It builds the largest nest of any North American bird and the largest tree nests ever recorded for any animal species, up to 4 m (13 ft) deep, 2.5 m (8.2 ft) wide, and 1 metric ton (1.1 short tons) in weight. Sexual maturity is attained at the age of four to five years. • Bald Eagles are not actually bald; the name derives from an older meaning of "white headed". The adult is mainly brown with a white head and tail. The sexes are identical in plumage, but females are larger than males. The beak is large and hooked. The plumage of the immature is brown. • The Bald Eagle is both the national bird and national animal of the United States of America. The Bald Eagle appears on its Seal. In the late 20th century it was on the brink of extirpation in the continental United States. Populations recovered and the species was removed from the U.S. federal government's list of endangered species on July 12, 1995 and transferred to the list of threatened species. It was removed from the List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife in the Lower 48 States on June 28, 2007. back