How are animals classified?

          How many kinds of animals do you know? If you start writing down the names of the animals that you know, the list would be very long. There are innumerable animals in the world. However, we have found ways to classify them too.

          There are a million different kinds of animals, belonging to different species. Scientists have divided them into two main groups – those that have a backbone or vertebrates, and those that do not have a backbone or invertebrates. Some vertebrates are cats, dogs, horses and humans. Jellyfish, sponges, octopuses and squids are some examples of invertebrates.

          Within the vertebrate group, there are five different classifications. These classifications are mammals, fishes, amphibians, birds and reptiles.

          Of the millions of species of animals on Earth, 97 percent are invertebrates. Common invertebrates are insects, spiders and worms. Some of the major invertebrate groups are Porifera, Cnidaria, Platyhelminthes, Nematoda, Mollusca, Annelida, Echinodermata and Anthropoda.

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