Scientific Taxonomy and Earth’s Biodiversity

Scientific Taxonomy and Earth’s Biodiversity

All species of animals, whether they are mammals, plants, insects, birds or echinoderms, are unique in their own way. However, each of these groups of living creatures shares a common bond with another within the same classification. This paper will examine the similarities and differences between two species from each classification listed above.

Mammals

All mammals share a common characteristic yet can be vastly different creatures. Take the blue whale and a bat for instance. The blue whale is a part of the Cetacean order along with dolphins and porpoises. Blue whales are classified to the Cetacean order because they are fish-shaped mammals and are strictly dependent on an aquatic habitat. Bats are a part of the Chiropteran order (University of Michigan, 2004-2008). The Chiropteran order is specific to just the various type of bat species because bats are the only mammal that truly flies.

The obvious differences between a bat and a blue whale, other than the orders within the mammal classification, are blue whales live in the sea while bats live above the sea in forests, caves, and any other dark place. The other obvious differences between blue whales and bats are the size of each creature, blue whales are 75-100 feet long (ACS, 2004) while bats are a mere 25mm to 1.5mm (Wikipedia, 2010) and the fact that bats have wings while blue whales have fins and flukes. However, both of these mammals have live births and nurse their young from milk produced from mammary glands. These two characteristics are unique only to mammals.

Insects

Insects are a very diverse species. They are everywhere, in practically all habitats. What makes insects unique is their size, small. Two insects that share similar characteristics yet are very different are the termite and the butterfly. Both species have a heat, thorax, and abdomen (three main body parts), have antennas, and an exoskeleton. However, the termite’s diet consists...