From our article you will learn what animal life forms are. This is a very broad concept, which is determined by the habitat and the nature of the adaptation of certain organisms to it. What is the classification of life forms based on? Can it be clearly defined for each animal? Let's figure it out together.
Animal life forms: definition of the concept
The term originally appeared in botany. Back in the late 19th century, the Danish scientist Johannes Warming described it as a form of a vegetative body that is in harmony with the environment. A century later, zoologists began to use it.
The type of animal life form is determined by environmental conditions. In the course of evolution, all organisms acquired certain features of the external and internal structure that allowed them to survive. These types of adaptations 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 in search of food anddwellings.
Classification of animal life forms
When identifying large groups, the main feature is their habitat. This classification was created in 1945 by the Soviet zoologist Daniil Nikolaevich Kashkarov. The life forms identified by him are the most accepted among scientists. Therefore, we will consider this particular classification in our article.
Diversity of life forms of animals is observed within the same 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 the zoologist Vladimir Vladimirovich Yakhontov.
In each of these forms, smaller ones can be distinguished. For example, among soil insects, 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 complete metamorphosis at the caterpillar stage feed on foliage, and at the adult stage they feed on nectar.
And now consider the basic classification of animal life forms, examples and the nature of their adaptations to the environment.
Floating
This group distinguishes between purely aquatic and semi-aquatic animals. The first includes plankton, nekton, neuston and benthos. These are the organisms that are constantly in the water. How do they differ from each other? Plankton drifts passively in the water column. It is represented exclusively by smallorganisms unable to resist the flow. At the moment, 250 thousand species have been described. These are algae, bacteria, unicellular animals, daphnia crustaceans, cyclops, fish eggs and larvae.
Nectonic organisms also live in the water column, but move actively. They resist the current and travel considerable distances in search of food. This group includes cephalopods, fish, penguins, turtles, some snakes, and pinnipeds.
The "incubator of the sea" floats on the surface of the water. That is what scientists call neuston. These are organisms that occupy an intermediate position between the aquatic and air environments. The basis of this group is algae and small invertebrates: protozoa, mollusks, coelenterates. They are so light that they do not break through the surface tension film of water. And the neuston is striking in its quantity. Just imagine, on one square millimeter of area there are tens of thousands of neuston 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 devoid of 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, while molluscs are inactive. Bottom fish constantly change their position - they rise into the water column, then again sink to the bottom. These are rays and flounders that have a flattened body.
Semi-aquatic
Let'sLet's start by explaining the name of this life form. The life of its representatives is closely connected with water, since it is here that they get food. But they are not able to extract oxygen from water, because they breathe with the help of lungs.
They are grouped 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 when descending 1.5 km. Divers have a number of adaptations for this lifestyle. This is a larger volume of the lungs, the oxygen capacity of the blood and the number of alveoli compared to terrestrial species, a thickened pleura. The trachea and esophagus in such species are anatomically separated, so they do not choke. The presence of muscle elements in all respiratory organs allows them to dive to great depths. Due to this structure, there is no squeezing during immersion.
Many species of waterfowl do not have such devices, so they do not dive. These animals include many species of waterfowl. These are flamingos, pelicans, albatrosses, gulls, geese, herons.
Semi-aquatic animals that live near the water and get food from it are distinguished into a separate group. Examples are some species of artiodactyls - goats, antelopes, deer.
Digging
And now consider the life forms of animals whose life is connected with the soil. Among them, there are absolute and relative excavations. The first spend their entire lives underground. Among mammals, these are moles and mole rats. In connection withway of life they have a compact body shape, digging forelimbs, dense fur. Their organs of vision are poorly developed, which is compensated by an excellent sense of smell and hearing. The ringed worm is also an absolute excavator. This representative of legless amphibians lives in the tropics. The body of the worm is worm-shaped, the limbs are missing, the eyes are very small.
Relative excavators are animals that come to the surface periodically. Among amphibians, the representative of this group is the Ceylon fish snake. It is able to burrow into the soil to a depth of 30 cm. There are also mammals among relative excavators. For example, the lamellar-toothed rat. She spends most of her time on the ground, but digs holes for nesting.
Ground
On the example of mammals, life forms of animals are very easy to consider. Especially when it comes to terrestrial species. Those organisms that do not dig holes are combined into the following groups: running, jumping, crawling. The former include ungulates: horses, saigas, goats, roe deer, deer. These animals are active most of the time. Such a lifestyle is possible thanks to a developed muscular system, strong limbs and thick horny hooves.
A typical representative of jumping - kangaroo. These marsupials can reach speeds of up to 50 km/h. Their forelimbs are short, the animal does not rely on them. But the rear and tail are well developed. They serve for movement and protection from enemies.
The same groups are also found among burrowing animals. Examples of runners are hamsters and ground squirrels, jumpers are jerboas and kangaroo rats. Crawlers, which include reptiles, do not dig holes themselves, but use ready-made ones.
Animals of rocks
Representatives of this life form have adapted to life on steep slopes and sharp ledges of rocks. These are bighorn sheep and leopards, yaks, mountain goats. In the rocks they are saved from predators. Rock turkeys, alpine jackdaws, rock pigeons, swifts, and wall climbers are birds that find nesting and weather shelter here.
Tree climbers
Consider the following animal life form. These representatives of the fauna constantly live on trees or only climb them. The former include koala, opossum, monkeys, African frogs, chameleons. This animal life form has long, prehensile tails and powerful, sharp claws.
The second group of woody animals is represented by animals that lead a terrestrial lifestyle, but sometimes climb trees. For example, the sable arranges nesting shelters in hollows, and also feasts on berries.
Aerial
These life forms of organisms are animals that forage for food in flight. They are also represented by several groups. So, bats and swallows hunt in the air while flying.
But the kestrel - a bird from the order of falcons - "hangs" in the air and looks out for prey. Noticingmice or large insects, it rapidly flies down. For such hunting, the kestrel has a number of adaptations. Scientists have found that the visual acuity of the kestrel is twice that of a human. This bird also sees ultraviolet rays, in which rodent urine glows.
So, the life forms of animals reflect the characteristics of the habitat, lifestyle and way of obtaining food of the species.
