ANIMAL MOTION & BODY COVERINGS
RELATED LINKS:
WILDLIFE
- Red Racer
- Gopher Snake
- Glossy Snake
- Common Kingsnake
- Mojave Rattlesnake
- Speckled Rattlesnake
- Panamint Rattlesnake
- Desert Sindwinder
- Diamondback Rattlesnake
- Great Basin Rattlesnake
- Gila Monster
- Chuckwalla
- Leopard Lizard
- Collard Lizard
- Spiny Lizard
- Desert Iguana
- Desert Whiptail
ANIMAL MOTION AND BODY COVERINGS
- Vocabulary
- Book List
- Web Resources
1. Animals have different types of coverings on the outsides of their bodies. These coverings include:
Fur or hair—mammals
Feathers—birds
Shells—invertebrates, animals without back bones
Scales—fish and reptiles
Skin—amphibian life
2. Animal body coverings may provide protection from injury or heat loss, help the animal in moving, catching their food or help them hide. Coverings nay even help attract mate.
Examples:
Skin provides a barrier that keeps outside bacteria from entering an animal’s body. Skin also protects against water loss, or when thick, from injury and insect bites. Some amphibians, such as the spade foot toads, have a poisonous substance that is secreted onto their skin through special glands.
Fur and feathers insulate against heat loss and sometimes over heating. Feathers are also needed for flight.
Peacock males display their brilliant feathers to attract mates, as do many other species of bird.
Scales protect reptiles as they move, especially snakes, they also provide protection from drying out.
Fur, feathers and shells . . . Often serve as camouflage, hiding them from enemies and possible prey.
Colors that stand out serve to warn other animals to stay away. An example would be a skunk’s vivid black and white.
3. The way an animal moves depends partly on the way its body is made and partly on where it lives. Body parts that help animals move include legs and feet, flippers, fins, tails and wings. Animals use these parts to move in different ways.
Examples:
Spider monkeys use their tails to grasp braches as they move through trees.
Roadrunners can walk or run on their legs or use their wings to fly.
Seals use their flippers to swim.
Horses walk, trot and gallop on their legs.
Rabbits, toads and kangaroo rats hop.
Some animals, like flying squirrels, use extra skin to glide from tree to tree or down to the ground.
Have students explain some of the following ways in which animals move.
Run Crawl Fly
Trot Jump Dig
Walk Swim Glide
Hop Roll Scoot
Can you think of other ways to move?