Hobbies And Interests
Frogs
All frog species fall in the Animalia kingdom, the phylum Chordata and the class Amphibia, meaning they are amphibians. Further classification into order, family, genus and species differentiates one frog species from another. Belonging to the chordate phylum indicates that frogs have backbones. All amphibians are cold-blooded, which means they must obtain heat from the environment to maintain their body temperature. They spend time both on land and in the water, have moist skin and the larvae of most species mature in the water, which means they have gills during part of their life cycle.
Snakes
Snakes are also chordates, but they belong to the class Reptilia, a class they share with alligators, crocodiles and turtles. Reptiles are also cold-blooded, but unlike amphibians, most species do not need to spend time in the water. The skin of all reptiles is dry, tough and scaly. They lay eggs on land, rather than in the water, and young are born with lungs. Even though snakes lack arms and legs, reptiles are classified as tetrapods, meaning they have four legs or leg-like appendages.
Kangaroos
Kangaroos fall into the class Mammalia, which means they are mammals. They are further classified into the order Marsupialia, indicating they are marsupials. All mammals, including kangaroos, possess fur or hair covering a large portion of their bodies, are warm blooded and give birth to live young. Marsupials do not develop placentas to nourish their young in the womb. Instead, they give birth to their young at a very early stage of development. The young joeys, usually about an inch in length, crawl into the mother's pouch and attach themselves to one of her teats. Here, joeys receive nourishment and are protected until they are old enough to leave the pouch.
Rabbits
Also mammals, rabbits belong to the order Lagamorpha. While members of this order closely resemble rodents, they have four incisors in their upper jaw as opposed to rodents who only have two. Almost all species of lagamorphs are herbivorous, whereas many rodents are omnivorous. Like rodents, the teeth of lagamorphs grow continuously, so these animals need to constantly chew to wear them down and prevent them from growing too long.