Hobbies And Interests
Reproduction
Like the other kingdoms, in the Animalia kingdom all creatures, no matter how different they might appear, share certain key characteristics. One of these is linked to reproduction. Organisms that are part of Animalia all have structures that reproduce at a cellular level. However, these organisms can also reproduce at the species level. These species all produce offspring of some kind and grow throughout their life spans.
The Phyla
Like all of the biological kingdoms, the kingdom Animalia is broken down into individual phyla. There are 38 different phyla within the kingdom Animalia. Some of these have very few individual species, such as the Rhombozoa, which are small parasites. There are 70 known Rhombozo species. On the other extreme, Mollusca, the phylum of mollusks, has 100,000 individual species. Human beings are part of the Chordata phylum. There are more than 42,000 recognized species within Chordata.
Mobility
The ability to move sets the kingdom of Animalia apart from biological organisms in many of the other kingdoms. A plant, for example, is basically rooted to the place of its birth. Members of the Animalia kingdom are capable of mobility at some point in time during their life. Mobility can be achieved in many different ways, including muscular contractions, swimming, flying, walking and more.
Development
Members of Animalia are also different from members of the other kingdoms because of the stages of development that they go through. Species that fall outside of Animalia such as bacteria are in an adult form from the minute they are created. Others grow, but do not have a distinct life form prior to being born. Members of Animalia exist as either an embryo, larva or similar organism before reaching fully realized life.