Introduction
Animals are those group of living things which depend mainly on plants for their food. They are found in tropics as well as in the temperate regions on the land, in the forest and salt water.
Classification of Farm Animals
Classification is based on the following:
- On the basis of size
- According to their Habitat
- According to their mode of reproduction
- According to their type of Stomach
Classification According to Size
On the basis of size, farm animals can be broadly classified into two – large and small animals. Large animals are farm animals which are relatively big in size e.g cattle, sheep, goats, pigs. Small animals are small in size e.g crab, crayfish, mice, periwinkle.
Classification According to Habitat
Farm animals can be classified into two: land (terrestrial animals) e.g cattle, goats, pigs, sheep, horse, fowl, rabbits and donkeys and aquatic animals e.g. fish, crab, oyster, lobster, octopus, periwinkle.
Classification According to Mode of reproduction
This can be classified to animals that give birth to their young ones alive and animals that lay eggs. Animals that give birth to their young ones alive and feed them with milk from their mammary glands. e.g cattle, sheep, goat. Animals that lay eggs ie non-mammals e.g. fish, reptiles and bird.
Classification According to the type of Stomach
Farm animals e.g mammals can also be classified according to the type of stomach they have. Some mammals have a complex stomach and are called ruminants e.g cattle, sheep and goats. Other mammals have a simple stomach and are called non-ruminants e.g pigs, rabbits and guinea pigs. Ruminants have four stomach compartments which are rumen, reticulum, omasum and abomasum. Ruminant animals chew their cud as ingested food comes back to the mouth and the animal begins to chew again.
ASSESSMENT
- Animals can be classified in 4 ways, list them.
- On the basis of size, farm animals can be broadly classified into ________
- Farm animals can be classified into two, which are _________
- Mammals that have a complex stomach are called _________