Animals
Animalia
Animals are eukaryotic, multicellular organisms that form the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals are motile (able to move), heterotrophic (consume organic material), reproduce sexually, and their embryonic development includes a blastula stage. The body plan of the animal derives from this blastula, differentiating specialized tissues and organs as it develops; this plan eventually becomes fixed, although some undergo metamorphosis at some stage in their lives.
33 branches of this kingdom, most-observed first
Arthropods
phylumArthropoda
Chordates
phylumChordata
Molluscs
phylumMollusca
Cnidarians
phylumCnidaria
Echinoderms
phylumEchinodermata
Segmented Worms
phylumAnnelida
Sponges
phylumPorifera
Flatworms
phylumPlatyhelminthes
Bryozoans
phylumBryozoa
Nematodes
phylumNematoda
Rotifers
phylumRotifera
Comb Jellies
phylumCtenophora
Ribbon Worms
phylumNemertea
Horsehair Worms
phylumNematomorpha
Tardigrades
phylumTardigrada
Velvet Worms
phylumOnychophora
Brachiopods
phylumBrachiopoda
Gastrotrichs
phylumGastrotricha
Horseshoe Worms
phylumPhoronida
Xenoturbellids and Allies
phylumXenacoelomorpha
Hemichordates
phylumHemichordata
Entoprocts
phylumEntoprocta
Arrow Worms
phylumChaetognatha
Thorny-headed Worms
phylumAcanthocephala
Priapulid Worms
phylumPriapulida
Mud Dragons
phylumKinorhyncha
Cycliophorans
phylumCycliophora
Jaw Worms
phylumGnathostomulida
Dicyemids
phylumDicyemida
Placozoans
phylumPlacozoa
Gnathiferans
phylumGnathifera
Orthonectids
phylumOrthonectida
Loriciferans
phylumLoricifera
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the old herbals & bestiaries
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Animalia in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 1.