The kingdom Animalia comprises all the creatures we normally think of as animals but it extends further than this, including worms, insects, crustaceans, molluscs, sponges, jellyfish as well as vertebrates. Some animal-like organisms consisting of a single cell or a few cells are included in the category Protista. The bacteria and the archaea are included in the category Monera. Most of the members of this kingdom are active and able to move around, have a mouth or other opening to ingest food, react to outside stimuli and respire, but they do not photosynthesize like plants do. Modern genetic analysis is showing unexpected relationships between disparate groups and demonstrating that what had been thought to be closely related groups are actually further apart. The Animalia are now thought to be more closely related to the kingdom Fungi than the kingdom Plantae. Subcategories are organized according to the taxon tree: - Phylum -- Class --- Order ---- Family ----- Genus ------ Species Not all taxonomic branches are fully developed.
More information