Table of Contents

1. Table of Contents • Introduction • Mammals • Platypus Life Cycle Diagram • Birds • Penguin Life Cycle Diagram • Fish • Clownfish Life Cycle Diagram • Reptiles • Turtle Life Cycle Diagram • Amphibians • Frog Life Cycle Diagram • Invertebrates • Butterfly Life Cycle Diagram

2. Introduction View Contents It would be almost impossible to memorize and learn all of Earth’s animals and so they have been grouped into 6 classes by their characteristics. Once you understand these 6 groups, you will be on your way to knowing the basic characteristics of nearly every animal on the planet! In this book, I will explore the 6 groups of animals, their characteristics, and lifecycles. MAMMALS BIRDS INVERTEBRATES ANPHIBIANS FISH REPTILES Dogs, cats, horses, platypuses, kangaroos, dolphins, whales. All of these animals drink milk when they are babies and have hair on their body. All birds have feathers and born out of hard-shelled eggs. They have wings to help them fly! Fish are vertebrates (animals with backbones) that live in water and have gills, scales and fins on their body. Reptiles have scaly skin. They are cold blooded and are born on land. Amphibians are born in water. When they are born, they breath with gills like a fish. But when they grow up, the develop lungs and can live on lands. Over 95% of all animals are invertebrates. These are animals that have no backbone or vertebrates.

3. Mammals View Contents Platypus Platypus are one of only five types of mammals to be born from an egg. After hatching, the babies will be blind, deaf and hairless. The survive on their mothers milk. At about four months old, the babies leave the burrow for their fist time. Their teeth are replaced by horned plates and they begin eating adult food… shrimp and crayfish. The platypus only mates between June and October. The females dig huge burrows after mating to provide their young with shelter. Males take no part in raising the babies! “TYPICAL!” Wild platypuses can live as old as 11 years and those in captivity can live to 17 years

4. PLATYPUS LIFE CYCLE View Contents

5. Birds View Contents Penguins Penguins live in the South Pole. All penguins start out as eggs. When they hatch they rely on their parents for food a shelter. One parent stays with the chick while the other parent gets food. The chick sits on the parents feet or under the belly. As the chick grows they grow a downy coat to keep them warm. Eventually the chicks becomes big enough to get food with their parents. It takes 6 to 12 weeks for the chick to reach juvenile stage. They lose their downy coat. They start to go to sea to search for their own food. At 2 years they start to think about breeding. They return to their colony and try to attract a female. As soon as they develop a bond. They will mate to fertilize the egg. Penguins live to an average of 10 years, some penguins may live till 25.

6. PENGUIN LIFE CYCLE View Contents

7. Fish View Contents Clownfish The clownfish breed all year in tropical waters. Males attract the females by courting like chasing and biting. Clownfish lay their eggs on coral, rock or next to the anemone, their home. The male clownfish will build the anemone to protect from predators. Breeding starts by the male chasing the female to the nest where the eggs are released. 100 to 1000 eggs are laid. The male clownfish guards the eggs until they’re hatched. In captivity the clownfish can live for 3 to 5 years, in the wild, they live to 6 to 10 years.

8. View Contents CLOWNFISH LIFE CYCLE

9. View Contents Reptiles Turtles Turtles live on land and in water. Some sea turtles lay egg in water, but most female turtles dig holes in the sand and put their eggs their. When they hatch, the turtle heads directly to the water. Adult turtles live on land or water. Turtles have lungs and not gills so even though they can stay underwater for a long time, they must come up to breathe now and again. When it’s time to breed the male nods its head up and down or will bump the females shell or sometimes bites the females legs. Neither parents are involved in taking care of the hatchlings. Turtles grow at a very slow rate. Though the painted turtle lives a short 11 years, some sea turtles live to be over 100 years old.

10. View Contents TURTLE LIFE CYCLE

11. Amphibians View Contents Frog When frogs mate, the male frog climbs on the females back. Frogs lay many eggs. Many eggs will die. The lucky ones will hatch between 6 to 21 days. After hatching it is a tadpole with gills and a tail and lives in the water. After about 4 weeks the gills disappear and lungs will begin to grow. After 6 to 9 weeks the legs and the arms start to grow with a really long tail. By 12 weeks it looks like mini frog. Soon it will leave the water. Between 12 to 16 weeks it has completed it full grown life cycle. The change that a frog goes through is called metamorphosis.

12. View Contents FROG LIFE CYCLE

13. Invertebrates View Contents Butterfly The female attaches the egg to leaves or stem of trees. When the egg hatches after about 4 days, it is larvae (caterpillar). The caterpillar will start to eat a lot to grow quickly. When it is done growing after about 2 weeks, they form in to a pupa (chrysalis). Inside the pupa the caterpillar is rapidly changing – metamorphosis. Tissue, limbs and organs of the caterpillar are all being changed in the pupa. When it’s done after about 10 days, an adult butterfly comes out. After resting, blood will pump in to its wings and then it flies. The adult butterfly searches for a female to reproduce before it dies within 2 to 6 weeks.

14. View Contents BUTTERFLY LIFE CYCLE