This document summarizes key information about different groups of animals. It covers mammals, birds, fish and amphibians, invertebrates including insects, spiders and worms, and reptiles including snakes, lizards, crocodiles, tortoises and turtles. For each group, it outlines defining characteristics such as how they breathe, move, reproduce, and whether they are warm or cold-blooded. It also provides examples of common animals within each group.

1. SUMMARY-UNIT 3-ANIMALS
SCIENCE – PRIMARY YEAR 4
MAMMALS
 Mammals are vertebrates: they have a backbone.
 Most mammals have fur or hair.
 Mammals breathe in oxygen from the air with their lungs.
 Mammals are viviparous: they are born live.
 All baby mammals drink their mother’s milk.
 Most mammals have four legs and move on land.
 Some mammals have flippers to move in water.
 Mammals can be carnivores: they eat other animals; herbivores: they eat plants; or omnivores:
they eat plants and other animals.
 Some examples of mammals are: dogs, cats, elephants, tigers, mice, lions, dolphins, giraffes,
bats, cows, deer, etc.
BIRDS
 Birds are vertebrates.
 Birds can be of different colours.
 All birds are covered in feathers and have wings and a beak.
 Not all birds can fly.
 Birds breathe in oxygen from the air with their lungs.
 Birds are oviparous: they lay eggs.
 Birds can be carnivores, herbivores or omnivores.
Birds can have:
* A hooked beak to tear meat.
* A short beak to eat nuts and seeds.
* A long, sharp beak to catch fish.
* A long, thin beak to eat nectar from the flowers.
*
FISH AND AMPHIBIANS
≈ Fish are vertebrates.
≈ Fish have fins and scales.
≈ Fish breathe through their gills.
≈ Fish live in freshwater, in sea water or in both.
≈ Most fish are oviparous, but some are viviparous.
≈ Fish can be carnivores, herbivores or omnivores.
 Amphibians are cold-blooded vertebrates
 Most amphibians are carnivores.
 Baby amphibians live and grow in water an breathe through
their gills.
 In a process called metamorphosis, baby amphibians
change and grow into adult amphibians.
 Adult amphibians live in water and on land.
 Adult amphibians breathe through their lungs and absorb
oxygen through their moist skin.

2. INVERTEBRATES
 Invertebrates are all around us.
 Invertebrates don’t have a backbone.
 Invertebrates live on land and in water.
 Invertebrates walk, swim, crawl and fly.
 Many invertebrates have an exoskeleton, a shell or a soft body.
INSECTS:
 Insects have an exoskeleton.
 Insects have their body divided into
three parts: the head, the thorax and
the abdomen.
 Insects have two antennae; six legs and
most insects have wings.
SPIDERS:
 Spiders have a body that is divided into
two parts: the head and the abdomen.
 All spiders have eight legs.
 Most spiders have eight eyes, but some
can have six, four or two eyes.
CRABS:
 Crabs have ten legs and two eyes.
 Crabs usually move sideways.
 Crabs have a thick exoskeleton.
REPTILES
CENTIPEDES:
 Centipedes have lots of legs and many
body parts.
 Centipedes have two antennae.
 Centipedes can move quickly.
WORMS:
 Worms have a soft body that is divided
into many parts.
 An earthworm has no lungs and
breathes in oxygen through its moist
skin.
OCTOPUSES:
 Octopuses have a soft body and eight
legs.
 They have a very good sense of touch in
their suckers.
SNAILS:
 Snails have a head with two tentacles
and there is an eye at the end of each
tentacle.
 Snails have a soft body that is protected
by a shell.
 Reptiles were the first vertebrates to
leave the water and live on land.
 Most reptiles have four limbs.
 Reptiles have scales.
 Reptiles breathe in oxygen with their
lungs.
 Reptiles are cold-blooded.
 Most reptiles are oviparous and lay their
eggs on land.
 Most reptiles are carnivores.
SNAKES:
 Snakes need to lose a layer of skin as they
grow.
LIZARDS:
 Lizards need to replace their skin with new
skin.
 Some lizards can also lose their tail to
protect themselves from predators. It usually
grows back.
CROCODILES:
 The scales of crocodiles grow as the crocodile
grows.
 Crocodiles can move quickly both on land
and in water.
TORTOISES:
 Tortoises have a shell.
 Tortoises live on land and are mostly
herbivores.
TURTLES:
 Turtles live in water.
 Turtles lay their eggs on land.
 Most turtles are omnivores