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Animal

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Animals are a major group of mostly multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and independently. Most animals are also heterotrophs, meaning they must ingest other organisms for sustenance.

Most known animal phyla appeared in the fossil record as marine species during the Cambrian explosion, about 542 million years ago.

For more information about Animal, read the full article at Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.


News tagged with animals

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Tree of life

Evolution may take giant leaps

Biology / Evolution

created Dec 11, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (28) | comments 36

(PhysOrg.com) -- A new study of thousands of species of plants and animals suggests new species may arise from rare events instead of through an accumulation of small changes made in response to changes in ...


New pictures reveal rich Antarctic marine life in area of rapid climate change

New pictures reveal rich Antarctic marine life in area of rapid climate change

Space & Earth / Environment

created Dec 17, 2009 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (9) | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- New photographs of ice fish, octopus, sea pigs, giant sea spiders, rare rays and beautiful basket stars that live in Antarctica’s continental shelf seas are revealed this week by the British ...


Make your pets a part of your New Year's resolutions

Other Sciences / Other

created Dec 16, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

(PhysOrg.com) -- When drawing up a list of New Year's resolutions, be sure to include your pets, says Lorraine Corriveau, a wellness veterinarian at Purdue University's School of Veterinary Medicine.


Extinct goat Myotragus balearicus

Extinct goat was cold-blooded

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Nov 18, 2009 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (39) | comments 11

(PhysOrg.com) -- An extinct goat that lived on a barren Mediterranean island survived for millions of years by reducing in size and by becoming cold-blooded, which has never before been discovered in mammals.


Bigger not necessarily better, when it comes to brains

Bigger not necessarily better, when it comes to brains

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Nov 17, 2009 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (19) | comments 12

(PhysOrg.com) -- Tiny insects could be as intelligent as much bigger animals, despite only having a brain the size of a pinhead, say scientists at Queen Mary, University of London.


A picture taken in October 2004 shows Fatu (C) at the Dvur Kralove zoo, East Bohemia

Endangered rhinos return to wild

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Dec 11, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

A Czech zoo is to transfer four endangered Northern White rhinos to a Kenyan reserve in a last-ditch attempt to ensure the survival of the species.


New findings show how human movement may have brought Chagas disease to urban Peru

Medicine & Health / Diseases

created Dec 15, 2009 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

New research shows how the migration and settlement patterns associated with the rapid urbanization of Peru may link to Chagas disease transmission. The study, published December 15 in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tr ...


Probing Question: What are wildlife corridors?

Probing Question: What are wildlife corridors?

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 10, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (3) | comments 0

Imagine that an unknown force hacks your city into two chunks. Because of this new barrier, you can’t get from your home to your office or the grocery store. Suddenly, your access to critical resources is ...


The therapeutic benefits of the human-animal bond

Other Sciences / Social Sciences

created Nov 30, 2009 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (5) | comments 0

A pet owner knows the enormous joy and comfort that an animal can provide, especially in troubled times. Most pets are considered important members of the family and irreplaceable companions. A growing body of research now ...


Study reveals how Arctic food webs affect mercury in polar bears

Space & Earth / Environment

created Dec 08, 2009 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 0

With growing concerns about the effects of global warming on polar bears, it's increasingly important to understand how other environmental threats, such as mercury pollution, are affecting these magnificent Arctic animals.


Warm-blooded dinosaurs worked up a sweat

Warm-blooded dinosaurs worked up a sweat

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Nov 11, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (5) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Were dinosaurs endothermic (warm-blooded) like present-day mammals and birds or ectothermic (cold-blooded) like present-day lizards? The implications of this simple-sounding question go beyond ...


Aquatic creatures mix ocean water

Physics / General Physics

created Nov 22, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 1

Understanding mixing in the ocean is of fundamental importance to modeling climate change or predicting the effects of an El Niño on our weather. Modern ocean models primarily incorporate the effects of winds and tides. However, ...


Sweden's wolf population is estimated to be between 182 and 217 animals

Sweden allows first wolf hunt in 45 years

Biology / Ecology

created Dec 02, 2009 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Sweden will this winter allow its first wolf hunt in 45 years following a decision by the Scandinavian country's parliament to limit their number, authorities said on Wednesday.


The story of X -- evolution of a sex chromosome

The story of X -- evolution of a sex chromosome

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Apr 16, 2009 | popularity 4.7 / 5 (11) | comments 1

(PhysOrg.com) -- Move over, Y chromosome - it's time X got some attention. In the first evolutionary study of the chromosome associated with being female, University of California, Berkeley, biologist Doris ...


Researchers find key 'conductor' of nature's synchronicity

Researchers Find Key 'Conductor' of Nature's Synchronicity

Biology / Ecology

created Jul 22, 2009 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (8) | comments 3

(PhysOrg.com) -- Synchronicity in nature is seen in beating hearts, the flashing of fireflies' lights, the ebb and flow of infectious disease—and the simultaneous rise and fall of populations across vast reaches ...