Animals Make the Earth Green

Animals are amazing creatures that share a bond with all of us. From single-celled roots, they evolved to an explosion of diversity and complexity. Estimates indicate that there are over seven thousand different species of animals alive on earth today, including sharks, snakes, lizards, amphibians and insects. Although many of these animals look very similar to each other and may have some similarities in their behavior, each species has its own characteristics that set it apart from another.

One example of animals that separated from the other animals on the surface of the earth is the Archaeopteryx. Also known as the Archaeochelid, this particular animal belongs to the dinosaur family. Small in size, this creature fed on fish, meat and even plants. It had a very long neck that was bony and long enough so that its head could hang low. Another notable feature of this ancient creature is that it possessed no teeth, making it one of the few dinosaurs known to have teeth.

Insects and reptiles are two other groups of animals that split away from the animal kingdom. While both belong to the Kingdom Protista, there are significant differences between the two. Insects are classified under the class Insecta, while reptiles belong to the class reptile. Like fish and amphibians, insects have jointed bodies with four legs and tail, along with a skeleton with exoskeleton. The word ‘worm’ in relation to insects comes from the Greek word for ‘wing’ – a theory that the wings of some insects actually help the animal move about.