Mammals Are Placental Animals
Most people know that animals do what animals do. For example, a cat makes sounds when it is frightened, a dog barks when it is angry, a llama climbs a tree because it is hungry, etc. Most of us have, at some point, given a friendly or playful animal a gift of affection, food, or company. But what is the basis for understanding animal minds? And how can we apply this knowledge to our own lives?
Animals are multicellular, living organisms in the insect, mammal, and aquatic animal kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals eat organic matter, breathe air, can move, reproduce sexually, and secrete chemical signals that allow them to communicate with others. In all domains of animal life, however, there are corresponding parts of the body that perform different jobs. An Insectivore’s heart pumps blood through the body to perform various tasks; an amphibian’s tail holds the body firmly afloat; an arboreal organism uses its feet to walk on land and reach things; an aquatic organism uses its gills to breathe.
Most animals are classified into one of four major classes, with humans being the only exception. Class A animals have a very simple nervous system, containing only a few essential nerves and no organs. Class B animals have an intermediate nervous system and include mammals, birds, and reptiles. Class C animals are amphibians and alligators, crocodiles, fishes, and sharks. Class D animals are dinosaurs, rodents, and other large vertebrates.
Birth and reproduction depend upon a genetic structure determined by the genotype (sex) and the genotype (form) of an organism. In animals where natural sexual reproduction is not possible, asexual reproduction takes place instead. When an animal is asexual, reproduction occurs through two processes: the ovulation process in the female and the fertilization process in the male. In the gonads of animals where sexual reproduction is possible, the male inserts the gametes into the female’s uterus where they are eventually released into the fallopian tube where they are fertilized by a sperm.
The fertilization process is completed in a process called Blastula. During this process, the zygote undergoes cell division. The zygote then divides into one or more embryos that soon become new life forms. The number of cells in the blastula area will determine how many different animal reproduction systems occur. The most commonly used unit of measurement for Blastula is the millimeter. Other units commonly used to measure the length of time for which an embryo has been formed, is the days, hours, or even minutes.
The classification of living creatures is based on differences in physical structures and functions between species. Relationships among taxa can be described using the cladogram, which is a system used to classify taxonomic relationships among organisms. The relationship among taxa within a genus can be described using the taxonomic classification system known as the cladogram. Cladograms differ between different subgenerations. For example, within the Phylum Anneloids there are nine subgenerations (A, B, C, D, E, F, G, K). The cladogram also classifies animals based on whether they are placental mammals.