27.1 Features of the Animal Kingdom
Introduction to Animal Diversity
Animal evolution began in the ocean over 600 million years ago with tiny creatures that probably do not resemble any living organism today. Since then, animals have evolved into a highly diverse kingdom. Although over one million extant (currently living) species of animals have been identified, scientists are continually discovering more species as they explore ecosystems around the world. The number of extant species is estimated to be between 3 and 30 million.
But what is an animal?
While we can easily identify dogs, birds, fish, spiders, and worms as animals, other organisms, such as corals and sponges, are not as easy to classify. Animals vary in complexity—from sea sponges to crickets to chimpanzees—and scientists are faced with the difficult task of classifying them within a unified system. They must identify traits that are common to all animals as well as traits that can be used to distinguish among related groups of animals. The animal classification system characterizes animals based on their anatomy, morphology, evolutionary history, features of embryological development, and genetic makeup. This classification scheme is constantly developing as new information about species arises. Understanding and classifying the great variety of living species help us better understand how to conserve the diversity of life on earth.
Learning Outcomes
- List the features that distinguish the kingdom Animalia from other kingdoms
Most animals share other features that distinguish them from organisms in other kingdoms. All animals require a source of food and are therefore heterotrophic, ingesting other living or dead organisms. This feature distinguishes them from autotrophic organisms, such as most plants, which synthesize their own nutrients through photosynthesis. As heterotrophs, animals may be carnivores, herbivores, omnivores, or parasites (Figure 27.2a,b). As with plants, almost all animals have a complex tissue structure with differentiated and specialized tissues. The necessity to collect food has made most animals motile, at least during certain life stages. The typical life cycle in animals is diplontic (the diploid state is multicellular, whereas the haploid state is gametic, such as sperm or egg). We should note that the alternation of generations characteristic of the land plants is typically not found in animals. In animals whose life histories include several to multiple body forms (e.g., insect larvae or the medusae of some Cnidarians), all body forms are diploid. Animal embryos pass through a series of developmental stages that establish a determined and fixed body plan. The body plan refers to the morphology of an animal, determined by developmental cues.
Complex Tissue Structure
Many of the specialized tissues of animals are associated with the requirements and hazards of seeking and processing food. This explains why animals typically have evolved special structures associated with specific methods of food capture and complex digestive systems supported by accessory organs. Sensory structures help animals navigate their environment, detect food sources (and avoid becoming a food source for other animals!). Movement is driven by muscle tissue attached to supportive structures like bone or chitin, and is coordinated by neural communication. Animal cells may also have unique structures for intercellular communication (such as gap junctions). The evolution of nerve tissues and muscle tissues has resulted in animals’ unique ability to rapidly sense and respond to changes in their environment. This allows animals to survive in environments where they must compete with other species to meet their nutritional demands.
The tissues of animals differ from those of the other major multicellular eukaryotes, plants and fungi, because their cells don’t have cell walls. However, cells of animal tissues may be embedded in an extracellular matrix (e.g., mature bone cells reside within a mineralized organic matrix secreted by the cells). In vertebrates, bone tissue is a type of connective tissue that supports the entire body structure. The complex bodies and activities of vertebrates demand such supportive tissues. Epithelial tissues cover and protect both external and internal body surfaces, and may also have secretory functions. Epithelial tissues include the epidermis of the integument, the lining of the digestive tract and trachea, as well as the layers of cells that make up the ducts of the liver and glands of advanced animals, for example. The different types of tissues in true animals are responsible for carrying out specific functions for the organism. This differentiation and specialization of tissues is part of what allows for such incredible animal diversity.
Just as there are multiple ways to be a eukaryote, there are multiple ways to be a multicellular animal. The animal kingdom is currently divided into five monophyletic clades: Parazoa or Porifera (sponges), Placozoa (tiny parasitic creatures that resemble multicellular amoebae), Cnidaria (jellyfish and their relatives), Ctenophora (the comb jellies), and Bilateria (all other animals). The Placozoa (“flat animal”) and Parazoa (“beside animal”) do not have specialized tissues derived from germ layers of the embryo; although they do possess specialized cells that act functionally like tissues. The Placozoa have only four cell types, while the sponges have nearly two dozen. The three other clades do include animals with specialized tissues derived from the germ layers of the embryo. In spite of their superficial similarity to Cnidarian medusae, recent molecular studies indicate that the Ctenophores are only distantly related to the Cnidarians, which together with the Bilateria constitute the Eumetazoa (“true animals”). When we think of animals, we usually think of Eumetazoa, since most animals fall into this category.
Link to Learning
Take a moment to appreciate the range of animal diversity by watching this short video showcasing amazing animals and their adaptations.
Animal Reproduction and Development
Most animals are diploid organisms, meaning that their body (somatic) cells are diploid and haploid reproductive (gamete) cells are produced through meiosis. Some exceptions exist: for example, in bees, wasps, and ants, the male is haploid because it develops from unfertilized eggs. Most animals undergo sexual reproduction. However, a few groups, such as cnidarians, flatworms, and roundworms, may also undergo asexual reproduction, in which offspring originate from part of the parental body.
Link to Learning
If you need a refresher about meiosis, watch this Crash Course Biology “Meiosis: Where the Sex Starts” video.
Processes of Animal Reproduction and Basics of Embryonic Development
During sexual reproduction, the haploid gametes of the male and female individuals of a species combine in a process called fertilization. Typically, both male and female gametes are required: the small, motile male sperm fertilizes the typically much larger, sessile female egg. This process produces a diploid fertilized egg called a zygote.
Some animal species—including sea stars and sea anemones—are capable of asexual reproduction. The most common forms of asexual reproduction for stationary aquatic animals include budding and fragmentation, where part of a parent individual can separate and grow into a new individual. This type of asexual reproduction produces genetically identical offspring, which would appear to be disadvantageous from the perspective of evolutionary adaptability, simply because of the potential buildup of deleterious mutations.
In animals, the zygote progresses through a series of developmental stages, during which primary germ layers (ectoderm, endoderm, and mesoderm) are established and reorganize to form an embryo. During this process, animal tissues begin to specialize and organize into organs and organ systems, determining their future morphology and physiology.
Animal development begins with cleavage, a series of mitotic cell divisions, of the zygote (Figure 27.3). Cleavage differs from somatic cell division in that the egg is subdivided by successive cleavages into smaller and smaller cells, with no actual cell growth. The cells resulting from subdivision of the material of the egg in this way are called blastomeres. Three cell divisions transform the single-celled zygote into an eight-celled structure. After further cell division and rearrangement of existing cells, a solid morula is formed, followed by a hollow structure called a blastula.
Further cell division and cellular rearrangement leads to a process called gastrulation. Gastrulation results in two important events: the formation of the primitive gut (archenteron) or digestive cavity, and the formation of the embryonic germ layers, as we have discussed above. These germ layers are programmed to develop into certain tissue types, organs, and organ systems during a process called organogenesis. Diploblastic organisms have two germ layers, endoderm and ectoderm. Endoderm forms the wall of the digestive tract, and ectoderm covers the surface of the animal. In triploblastic animals, a third layer forms: mesoderm, which differentiates into various structures between the ectoderm and endoderm, including the lining of the body cavity.
Some animals produce larval forms that are different from the adult. In insects with incomplete metamorphosis, such as grasshoppers, the young resemble wingless adults, but gradually produce larger and larger wing buds during successive molts, until finally producing functional wings and sex organs during the last molt. Other animals, such as some insects and echinoderms, undergo complete metamorphosis in which the embryo develops into one or more feeding larval stages that may differ greatly in structure and function from the adult (Figure 27.4). The adult body then develops from one or more regions of larval tissue. For animals with complete metamorphosis, the larva and the adult may have different diets, limiting competition for food between them. Regardless of whether a species undergoes complete or incomplete metamorphosis, the series of developmental stages of the embryo remains largely the same for most members of the animal kingdom.
The Role of Homeobox (Hox) Genes in Animal Development
Since the early nineteenth century, scientists have observed that many animals, from the very simple to the complex, shared similar embryonic morphology and development. Surprisingly, a human embryo and a frog embryo, at a certain stage of embryonic development, look remarkably alike! For a long time, scientists did not understand why so many animal species looked similar during embryonic development but were very different as adults. They wondered what dictated the developmental direction that a fly, mouse, frog, or human embryo would take. Near the end of the twentieth century, a particular class of genes was discovered that had this very job. These genes that determine animal structure are called “homeotic genes,” and they contain DNA sequences called homeoboxes. Genes with homeoboxes encode protein transcription factors. One group of animal genes containing homeobox sequences is specifically referred to as Hox genes. This cluster of genes is responsible for determining the general body plan, such as the number of body segments of an animal, the number and placement of appendages, and animal head-tail directionality. The first Hox genes to be sequenced were those from the fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster). A single Hox mutation in the fruit fly can result in an extra pair of wings or even legs growing from the head in place of antennae (this is because antennae and legs are embryologic homologous structures and their appearance as antennae or legs is dictated by their origination within specific body segments of the head and thorax during development). Now, Hox genes are known from virtually all other animals as well.
While there are a great many genes that play roles in the morphological development of an animal, including other homeobox-containing genes, what makes Hox genes so powerful is that they serve as “master control genes” that can turn on or off large numbers of other genes. Hox genes do this by encoding transcription factors that control the expression of numerous other genes. Hox genes are homologous across the animal kingdom, that is, the genetic sequences of Hox genes and their positions on chromosomes are remarkably similar across most animals because of their presence in a common ancestor, from worms to flies, mice, and humans (Figure 27.5). In addition, the order of the genes reflects the anterior-posterior axis of the animal’s body. One of the contributions to increased animal body complexity is that Hox genes have undergone at least two and perhaps as many as four duplication events during animal evolution, with the additional genes allowing for more complex body types to evolve. All vertebrates have four (or more) sets of Hox genes, while invertebrates have only one set.
Visual Connection
