TABLE OF CONTENTS

Mammals• Platypus Life Cycle Diagr

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Birds• Penguin Life Cycle Diagra

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Fish• Clownfish Life Cycle Diag

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Reptiles• Turtle Life Cycle Diagram

Amphibians• Frog Life Cycle Diagram

Invertebrates • Butterfly Life Cycle Diagr

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Introduction

It would be almost impossible to memorize and learn all of Earth’s animalsand 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.

Introduction

Dogs, cats, horses, platypuses, kanga-roos, dolphins, whales. All of these animals drink milk when they are ba-bies and have hair on their body.

All birds have feathers and born out of hard-shelled eggs. They have wings to help them fly!

MAMMALS BIRDS

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FISH INVERTEBRATESANPHIBIANSREPTILES

Fish are verte-brates (animals with back-bones) 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 de-velop lungs and can live on lands.

Over 95% of all an-imals are inverte-brates. These are animals that have no backbone or vertebrates.

PlatypusPlatypus 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

View ContentsMammals

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Platy-pus

Adult

Egg

Baby

Juvenile

PLATYPUS LIFE CYCLE

PenguinsPenguins 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.

View ContentsBirds

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Platy-pus

Adult

Egg

Baby

Juvenile

PENGUIN LIFE CYCLE

ClownfishThe 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.

View ContentsFish

Clown-fish

Eggs

Hatched

Juve-nile

Adult

View ContentsCLOWNFISH LIFE CYCLE

TurtlesTurtles 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.

View ContentsReptiles

View ContentsTURTLE LIFE CYCLE

FrogWhen 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.

View ContentsAmphibians

View ContentsFROG LIFE CYCLE

ButterflyThe 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.

View ContentsInvertebrates

View ContentsBUTTERFLY LIFE CYCLE