Episode 1: What Is An Animal?

Clades

A categorization method that categorizes all the descendants of the animal into one group.

Species

A category of animals that are all of the same types and are capable of breeding with each other.

Genus

A category of animals that are the most similar they can be without being part of the same species.

Binomial nomenclature

A classification system that allows the process of giving each animal a two-part Latin name.

Phylogenetics

A diagram used to study and visualize the relationship between animals.

Phylogeny/Phylogenetic tree

A diagram used to study and visualize the relationship between animals. It uses a branch-like system to indicate the animal's common ancestry.

Maximum parsimony

A method used for constructing clades where the phylogeny with the fewest number of gains or losses of a trait wins.

Zoologist

A person who studies zoology

What are one of the main causes of animal evolution?

A possible mutation could affect the gene sequence of the animal and pass on from generation to generation which is one of the main causes of evolution.

What was the first animal most likely like?

A small blob with a mouth.

Overall, what do all animals share?

All animals have been EVOLVING DIFFERENTlY ever since the birth of the FIRST ANIMAL. We all share the common trait from that animal.

What do animals share with the first animal?

Animals share a common trait with the first animal.

Maximum likelihood

Another method used for constructing clades and predicting evolutionary relationships by calculating the probability of the thousand mutations to change one sequence of DNA into another.

Who is known to be the first zoologist influencer?

Aristotle

What made Aristotle think that humans were different from other animals?

Aristotle classified humans differently because we are capable of DEEP THOUGHT and REFLECTION.

How did Linnaeus and other scientists grouped other animals?

Based on their appearance

Who developed binomial nomenclature?

Carl Linnaeus

What are the four classifications of animals in general?

Eaters, movers, sexual reproducers, and multicellulars.

Analogous traits

Features that are NOT inherited from a common ancestor. The animals may share similar traits, however, they evolved independently.

Homologous traits

Features that are inherited from a common ancestor. As a result, mostly other animals are related and have similar traits

How do clade size vary?

It could be big or small depending on the species.

What did the first animal consist of?

It had no fossils nor evidence of what type of matter it was made of.

What can other clades do to each other?

It is possible to have CLADES WITHIN CLADES WITHIN CLADES.

How is a living thing's evolutionary history described?

It's like a genetic record of how it came to have all of its genetic traits today. It describes the living thing's relationship with any living relatives and extinct ancestors, and how they've all EVOLVED, or changed over time.

Are clades ranks?

No, clades are not ranks.

What did Aristotle thought about plants?

Plants only grow and reproduce a new generation of plants, but that was it.

Differentiating an animal's homologous and analogous traits can be difficult. What would scientists do to solve this problem?

Scientists would use DNA references from fossils to compare their two DNA sequences.

How long have animals been living alongside with humans?

Since the Paleolithic Era (2,500,000 BCE -10,000 BCE)

What does a longer branch mean on a phylogeny/phylogenetic tree?

The longer the branch, the more distantly related the two groups are.

Taxonomy

The science of naming, describing, and classifying organisms. It can be tricky as no two animals are exactly the same.

Zoology

The scientific study and asking and questioning of animals.

What careers do zoologists go into?

They can also focus on many careers such as a scientist, veterinarian, biomedical engineer, conservationist.

What do scientists rely on in order to organize the structure of life on Earth?

They rely on taxonomy

How did Aristotle distinguish the difference between plants and animals?

Unlike plants, animals can also reproduce but they were capable of movement.