Characteristics of the Animalia Kingdom

Answer 1

Charactieristics animals share with other living things are they maintain a state of reverse entropy (consume energy to stay alive and maintain a metabolism with would otherwise be subject to natural entropy). They grow, based on the energy the consume or fabricate themselves, they reproduce and they evolve being subjected to an environment which doesn't favour all. A more widely accepted definition says that all living things have a metabolism. This excludes things such as viruses.

Specifically, animals are heterotrophs, meaning they don't produce their own food but have to consume it from other sources, usually by consuming other living beings that do produce their own food.

Animal cells do not have a cellular wall like bacteria and plants do. This is not exclusive to animals though, fungi cells also don't have a cellular wall.

Animal cells are all eukaryotic (meaning something like 'real membrane'), meaning they have a nucleus which has a membrane and separates their genetic information from the rest of the cell. Again, this is not exclusive to animals.

Animals respond to stimulus. More evolved animals belonging to newer lineages have nervous systems, and still newer groups have a complex brain capable of processing and responding to stimuli.

Animals spend energy to maintain their body temperature in homeostasis (same state). Cold-blooded animals move to warmer or colder spots whereas warm-blooded animals produce their heat as a byproduct of their higher metabolism.

Answer 2

• Heterotrophs (cannot make their own food and feed on other heterotrophs and/or autotrophs)
• Multicellular (made up of many cells)
• Usually eukaryotic
• Are motile at some point in life
• Lack cell walls
• Reproduce sexually

Answer 3

These are multi cellular consumers with most diverse and large number of organisms. There body form is regular with internal organs. They have no cell wall and there is no photosynthesis. They possess muscle cells. Reproduction is sexual with presence of embryo stage. These are consumers which provide a vital link to food chains.

The five kingdom classification is helpful in separating prokaryotes from Monera. It also separated fungi from rest of kingdom. However, there are some drawbacks of five kingdom such as its inability to establish phylogenetic system. Some of the organisms like viruses, archaebacteria, algae and mycoplasma have no definite entity. Some of the groups have so many differences and still they are kept together.

Answer 4

The distinguishing features of Kingdom Animalia are:

• Eukaryotic
• Separates them from bacteria and most protists
• Lack cell wall
• Separates from k.plantae and k.monera
• Multicellular
• Separates them from bacteria and most protists
• Heterotrophic
• Separates from k.plantae and some bacteria
• Mostly motile (at least in some stages of life)
• Embryo pass through the blastula stage (exclusive character of k.animalia)