Animal Groups
Learn how animals are sorted Sorting Living Things · Mammals · Birds · Reptiles & Amphibians · Fish · Bugs & Minibeasts. There are so many kinds of animal that scientists sort them into groups — just like tidying millions of things into the right boxes.
Ages 7–10
What's inside
Sorting Living Things — why we put animals in groups
The world is bursting with animals — furry ones, feathery ones, scaly ones, slimy ones, buzzy ones. There are so many that it would be impossible to keep track of them all. So, long ago, scientists came up with a brilliant idea: sort them into groups, based on what they have in common.
Mammals — furry, warm, and fed on milk
Let's start with the group you know best of all, because you're in it! Mammals are the furry, warm animals that feed their babies on milk. From the family dog to a wild lion, from a mouse to a whale — and, yes, all of us people — they're some of the most familiar and beloved animals on Earth.
Birds — feathers, beaks and eggs
Look up at the sky, or listen in the morning, and you'll find members of our next group: the birds. Birds are the masters of the air, and they have one thing that makes them instantly recognisable and belongs to no other animal on Earth — feathers.
Reptiles & Amphibians — scaly and slimy, cold to touch
Now for two groups that are a bit alike but not the same: reptiles and amphibians. Reptiles are the scaly ones — snakes, lizards, crocodiles and turtles. Amphibians are the smooth, damp ones — frogs, toads and newts. Both share one big feature: unlike you, they can't make their own body heat.
Fish — gills, fins and a watery home
Dive into the water and you'll find our next group everywhere, from a tiny garden pond to the deepest ocean: fish. Fish are the champion swimmers of the animal world, so perfectly built for life underwater that they never leave it — not for a single moment.
Bugs & Minibeasts — the tiny animals that rule the Earth
For our last group, get down close to the ground, because here live the smallest animals of all — and there are more of them than every other animal put together! We're talking about the minibeasts: insects like beetles and bees, plus their cousins the spiders, worms, snails and centipedes.
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