In this activity you will pretend to observe an animal and work out its main characteristics and behaviours to help identify it.
You will need
A piece of paper
Drawing tools (pencils, crayons, paint, textas)
An active imagination
What to do
Think about two animals, for example a ‘human' and a ‘lion'. Why are they named differently? Why don't we call them by the same name? How do we tell them apart?
Think about the physical differences and similarities between the two animals. Why do you think scientists classify living things? There are many different types of animals in the world. Many are similar to each other, others are very different. Animals can be classified based on their similarities.
Have you ever heard of animals called Homo sapiens? Sure you have; Homo sapiens are also known as human beings. Homo sapiens is the scientific name for us (sometimes written as H. sapiens ). Scientific names are internationally recognised names given to living things. When naming an organism, the genus name is given first, followed by the species name. The scientific name is always written in italics and usually appears after the common name (or sometimes instead of it).
You are an explorer who has found an entirely new species of animal. Everyone is thrilled and they want to name the animal. You need to provide a description of the animal so scientists can classify it. You will need (to pretend) to observe your animal in its natural environment, and then use the questions provided to describe it.
For each question, choose one option. When you have worked out the characteristics, write something describing its behaviour. Make sure you use the scientific word (ie. herbivore) in the description.
You will also need to draw a picture (or several pictures) to send back to the scientists.
Observations of the animal
1. What does it eat?
If it eats plants (like sheep do) it is a herbivore; if it eats other animals (like lions do) it is a carnivore; or if it eats both plants and animals (like many humans do) it is an omnivore.
2. When does it sleep?
If it sleeps during the day and is active at night, it is nocturnal (like possums); or if it sleeps at night and is awake during the day (like many birds) it is diurnal.
3. What shape is its body?
Does it have a backbone like reptiles, birds and mammals? If it does, it is a vertebrate. If it looks more like a worm or an insect without a backbone, or if it might have an external skeleton, it is an invertebrate.
4. If it is a vertebrate animal, what does its skin look like?
Is it covered in wet scales like fish; or naked skin like frogs; dry scales like snakes; feathers like birds or hair (fur) like horses?
5. What do its appendages (arms and legs) look like?
If it has flippers (like seals and walruses) it is a pinniped; if it walks on four legs (like cows and horses) it is a quadruped; or if it walks upright on two legs it is a biped.
6. Is it warm-blooded or cold-blooded?
If it spends its time in the sun using the heat to warm its blood (like lizards do) it is exothermic; or if it generates its own heat and maintains a constant temperature (like cats do) it is endothermic.
7. Where does it spend most of its time?
If it spends its time in water (like crocodiles do) it is aquatic; if it lives in trees (like monkeys do) it is arboreal; if it digs holes and lives in the ground (like wombats do) then it is fossorial; or if it spends its time running like deer, it is cursorial.
8. Is it predator or prey?
If it has its eyes at the front of its head for 3D vision (this is called stereo vision) it means it is a predator (like cats are). If the eyes are on the side of the head, it has peripheral vision (like fish do) – animals with this vision can see something sneaking up on them, and they are usually prey.
9. How does it give birth to its offspring?
Does it lay eggs like a turtle? If it does, it is oviparous. If it gives birth to live young (like cows do), it is a viviparous animal.
10. Does it have any other characteristics that are not mentioned here?
The discoverer of this animal thinks it might be a carnivore, vertebrate and quadruped - what characteristics will your animal have? Send your animal picture to us at sciencemail@csiro.au or Science by Email, PO Box 225, Dickson, ACT 2602.
What's happening?
There are billions of different kinds of living things (or organisms) on Earth. To help study them, scientists have worked out ways of naming and classifying them according to their similarities and differences.
The groups are organised in a hierarchical system that shows how the organisms are related to each other. From largest to smallest, these groups are: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus and species.
Kingdoms are huge groups with millions of living things. All animals are in one kingdom called Animalia. Species are the smallest groups. A species consists of all the animals of the same type, who are able to breed and produce young of the same kind.
Applications
The classification for modern humans:
Kingdom: Animalia (Animal kingdom)
Phylum: Chordata (all animals with a backbone)
Class: Mammalia (warm-blooded, with hair and feeds milk to its young)
Order: Primates (eyes face forward, two types of teeth: incisors and molars)
If it lives in trees (like monkeys do) it is arboreal. 
If it sleeps during the day and is active at night, it is nocturnal, just like a possum. 
