Biodiversity of the Animal Kingdom

Biodiversity of the Animal Kingdom Avis Wilson Axia College of University of Phoenix The two mammals I picked to research are the Blue Whale and the Skunk. I will describe what characteristics they share, and some of their differences. I will also list a couple more animals considered to be mammals. Three things all mammals have in common are: the ear contains three middle ear bones, at some point in life they all have hair, and they all have mammary glands. As I will state below they have different habitats and reproduce differently. They also feed differently from each other(Wund & Myers, 2005). The blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) of the Cetacea order is fully aquatic and is considered the largest mammal (mammalia) to ever exist now or in the past. They can weigh as much as 160 metric tons. They have changed to adapt over the centuries to have the best advantages possible for their environment. Their young are born fully formed and able to swim after 11 to 12 months gestation, and stay with the mother until weaned at eight or nine months. They have babies every two or three years after about age five. Two other mammals of this order would be Killer Whales (Orcinus orca) and Pacific white-sided Dolphins (Dewey, Fox, 2002). Out of the thousands of insects in the world I will discuss they differences and likenesses of the Butterfly and the Dragonfly. Three things in common for these two types of insect are that they both have six legs, large compound eyes, and two pairs of wings. Their differences will become apparent as I describe them below (Myers, 2001). Butterflies are from the order of Lepidoptera and come in many sizes and colors. Probably two of the most well known are the Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) and the Swallowtail butterfly (Papilinidae) which are under the super-family name of Papilionoidae and also moths. They differ in appearance from newly hatch to adulthood. They begin life as a caterpillars growing in size as they eat

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