General Characteristics of Kingdom Animalia
- Animals are a major group of hetrotrophic multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa and their cells lack cell walls.
- Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop,but few organisms undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life.
- Most of the organisms are motile,i.e. they can move spontaneously and independently.
- Animals are also heterotrophs, meaning they directly or indirectly depend on plants for food.
- They digest their food in an internal cavity and store food reserves as glycogen or fat.Their mode of nutrition is holozoic – by ingestion of food.
- They follow a definite growth pattern and grow into adults that have a definite shape & size.
- Higher forms show elaborate sensory and Neuromotor mechanism. Most of them are capable of locomotion.
- The sexual reproduction is by copulation of male and female followed by embryological development.