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The Animal Kingdom

An animal class is made up of animals that are all alike in important ways.  Scientists have grouped animals into classes to make it easier to study them.

There are many different animal classes and every animal in the world belongs to one of them.  The five most well known classes of vertebrates (animals with backbones) are mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians.  They are all part of the phylum chordata.

There are also a lot of animals without backbones.  These are called invertebrates and are part of the phylum arthropoda (arthropods).  Two of the most commonly known classes in this phylum are arachnids (spiders) and insects.

What makes a bird a bird?

Let's check out some animal facts: Fun Animal Facts