From our article you will learn what life forms of animals are. This is a very broad concept, which is determined by the habitat and the nature of adaptation of certain organisms to it. What is the classification of life forms based on? Is it possible to clearly define it for each animal? Let's get it together.
Animal Life Forms: Definition
Initially, this term appeared in botany. Back in the late 19th century, the Danish scientist Johannes Warming described it as a form of a vegetative body in harmony with the environment. A century later, zoologists began to use it.
The type of life form of animals is determined by environmental conditions. During evolution, all organisms acquired certain features of the external and internal structure that allowed them to survive. These types of devices are called life forms.
In animals, these groups are very diverse. This is due to the ability of these organisms to move. Most animals spend their lives looking for food and shelter.
Classification of animal life forms
When isolating large groups, the main sign is their habitat. Such a classification was created in 1945 by the Soviet zoologist Daniil Nikolaevich Kashkarov. The life forms highlighted by him are the most accepted among scientists. Therefore, it is this classification that we will consider in our article.
A variety of animal life forms is also observed within one class. For example, among insects, there are species that live in the soil, on its surface, under a layer of fallen leaves, on grass, shrubs and trees, in wood, in water. The author of this classification is zoologist Vladimir Vladimirovich Yakhontov.
In each of these forms, smaller ones can be distinguished. For example, among soil insects, the inhabitants of sand, clay soil, rocky areas, etc. are distinguished. Another feature of this classification is that the life form can change throughout life. So, some insects with a complete transformation at the caterpillar stage feed on foliage, and at the adult stage, on nectar.
Now consider the main classification of animal life forms, examples and the nature of their adaptations to the environment.
Floating
In this group, purely aquatic animals and semi-aquatic are distinguished. The first includes plankton, nekton, neuston and benthos. These are those organisms that are constantly in the water. How do they differ among themselves? Plankton passively drifts in the water column. It is represented exclusively by small organisms, unable to resist the flow. At the moment, 250 thousand species are described. These are algae, bacteria, unicellular animals, daphnia crustaceans, cyclops, caviar and fish larvae.
Nectonic organisms also live in the water column, but move actively. They resist the tide and travel long distances in search of food. This group includes cephalopods, fish, penguins, turtles, some species of snakes, pinnipeds.
A "sea incubator" floats on the surface of the water. That is what scientists call neuston. These are organisms that occupy an intermediate position between the water and air. The basis of this group is algae and small invertebrates: protozoa, mollusks, and intestinal. They are so light that they do not break through the film of surface tension of water. And the neuston is striking in its quantity. Just imagine, in one square millimeter of the area there are tens of thousands of neustonic organisms! Moreover, they multiply so intensively that they can often be seen even with the naked eye.
The bottom of the reservoirs is also not without life. Benthos lives there. The name of this group in Greek means "depth." Its representatives are very diverse. For example, crustaceans actively move along the bottom, and mollusks are inactive. Benthic fish are constantly changing their position - they rise into the water column, then again sink to the bottom. These are stingrays and flounders that have a flattened body.
Semi-aquatic
Let's start by explaining the name of this life form. The life of its representatives is closely connected with water, because it is here that they get food. But they are not able to produce oxygen from water, because they breathe with the help of the lungs.
They are combined into three groups. The first includes diving species. Moreover, some of them are able to dive to a considerable depth, holding their breath for a long time. For example, sperm whales can be found, even dropping 1.5 km. For such a lifestyle, diving people have a number of adaptations. This is a larger lung volume, oxygen capacity of the blood and the number of alveoli compared with terrestrial species, a thickened pleura. The trachea and esophagus of these species are anatomically separated, so they do not choke. They are allowed to dive to great depths by the presence of muscle elements in all respiratory organs. Due to this structure, no diving occurs during immersion.
Many species of waterfowl do not have such devices, so they do not dive. Such animals include many species of waterfowl. These are flamingos, pelicans, albatrosses, gulls, geese, herons.
Semi-aquatic animals that live near water and extract food from it are distinguished into a separate group. Examples are some species of artiodactyls - goats, antelopes, deer.
Digging
Now consider the life forms of animals whose life is connected with the soil. Among them distinguish between absolute and relative excavation. The first spend underground their whole lives. Among mammals, these are moles and mole rats. In connection with the lifestyle, they have a compact body shape, digging forelimbs, dense fur. Their organs of vision are poorly developed, which is offset by a wonderful sense of smell and hearing. An absolute digging is the annelid worm. This representative of legless amphibians lives in the tropics. The body of the worm has a worm-like shape, there are no limbs, the eyes are very small.
Relative excavations are animals that periodically surface. Among amphibians, the representative of this group is the Ceylon fish serpent. It is capable of burying itself in soil to a depth of 30 cm. There are mammals among relative excavators. For example, a lamellate rat. She spends most of her time on earth, but she digs holes for nesting.
Ground
Using mammals as an example, life forms of animals are very easy to consider. Especially when it comes to terrestrial species. Those organisms that do not dig holes are grouped into the following groups: running, jumping, crawling. The first includes ungulates: horses, saigas, goats, roe deer, deer. These animals move most of the time. This lifestyle is possible thanks to a developed muscle system, strong limbs and thick horn hooves.
A typical representative of jumping - a kangaroo. These marsupial mammals can reach speeds of up to 50 km / h. Their forelimbs are short, the animal does not rest on them. But the back and tail are well developed. They serve to move and protect against enemies.
The same groups are distinguished among animals that dig holes. Examples of running ones are hamsters and gophers, jumping ones are jerboas and kangaroo rats. Crawls, which include reptiles, do not dig burrows themselves, but use ready-made ones.
Cliff animals
Representatives of this life form adapted to life on steep slopes and sharp ledges of rocks. These are snow sheep and leopards, yaks, mountain goats. In the rocks, they flee from predators. Mountain turkeys, alpine jackdaws, rocky pigeons, swifts and stenolazes are birds that find places for nesting and shelter from the weather.
Wood climbing
Consider the following animal life form. These representatives of the fauna constantly live on trees or just climb on them. The former include koala, possum, monkeys, African frogs, chameleons. Representatives of this life form of animals have long tenacious tails and powerful sharp claws.
The second group of arboreal is represented by animals that lead a terrestrial lifestyle, but sometimes climb trees. For example, sable arranges nest shelters in hollows, and also enjoys berries.
Aerial
These life forms of organisms are animals that procure food in flight. They are also represented by several groups. So, bats and swallows hunt in the air during flight.
But the kestrel - a bird from the order of falcons - "hangs" in the air and looks out for prey. Noticing mice or large insects, it swiftly flies down. For such a hunt, the kestrel has a number of devices. Scientists have found that the visual acuity of kestrels is twice as high as human. And this bird also sees ultraviolet rays in which the urine of rodents glows.
So, the life forms of animals reflect the characteristics of the habitat, lifestyle and method of obtaining food species.