National Geographic Animal Encyclopedia

National Geographic Animal Encyclopedia — page 9
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK ENDANGERED STATUS BOX Throughout this book you will notice solid colored circles accompanying animal photographs as well as the list of animals in the back of the book These colors represent different con servation statuses Below is a key identifying each status along with its definition These statuses are based on information from the International Union for the Conservation of Nature IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012 ALERT Animal species at serious risk of dying out Some may even be extinct in the wild and exist only in places like zoos IN TROUBLE Animal species likely to become endan eered without conservation action STABLE Animal species whose populations are decreas ing but slowly UNDER STUDY Animal species that have experienced a decline in numbers and are being evaluated They are at risk of falling into either the In Trouble or the Alert categories NOT LISTED Animal species that have not yet been listed This category includes most fish and invertebrates DOMESTICATED Animal species domesticated for food clothing sport and companionship Their numbers are plentiful The National Geographic Animal Encyclopedia is divided into eight parts The first chapter introduces you to the world of animals through features such as animal life cycles and babies senses and communication homes and habitats adaptations and camouflage endangered species and animal conservation The second through seventh chapters present the major animal groups Mammals Birds Reptiles Amphibians Fish and Invertebrates Each chapter begins with an opener followed by a gallery spread Since it is impossible to include every animal on Earth in one volume these galleries are designed to portray as much animal diversity as is possible on two pages Following the gallery is the What Is spread which introduces the groups of animals within each section This spread is followed by grouping spreads which introduce specific species along with key facts about them including their common and scientific names endan gered status habitat range diet and a short text block about each species In addition illustrated diagrams convey information about animal life cycles sonar size comparisons and much more Throughout these chapters you will find seventeen From the Field reports and six From the Lens images The reports present accounts from National Geographic explorers grantees and photographers in the field Each From the Lens provides a visual break featuring a stunning National Geographic animal photograph Concluding each chapter are animal records These pages are full of animal superlatives from the tallest and biggest to the smallest and smelliest animals The eighth section in this book is a listing of more than 1 000 additional animals Like the gallery spreads this list serves as a tool to give you a sense of the vast diversity and size of the ani mal kingdom Here you will find common and scientific names and size diet range and habitat information about animals in each of the six animal groups mammals birds reptiles amphibians fish and invertebrates HOW THE ANIMAL KINGDOM IS ORGANIZED The kingdom Animalia includes one phylum Chordata for ani mals with a backbone vertebrates and eight for those without one invertebrates There are eight classes of vertebrates mammals birds reptiles amphibians and four classes of fish The eight invertebrate phyla are Arthropoda insects arach nids centipedes and millipedes and horseshoe crabs Mollusca squid octopus cuttlefish and snails Cnidaria corals jellyfish and hydras Annelida earthworms leeches and polychaetes Platyhelminthes flukes and tapeworms Nematoda round worms Echinoderms starfish sea urchins and sea cucumbers and Porifera sponges SIZE ABBREVIATIONS cm centimeters ft feet in inches kg kilograms km kilometers Ib pounds m meters mm millimeters Oz ounces RANGE MAPS You will find two kinds of range maps in this book The range maps that appear with the From the Field reports illustrate the range of the featured species The range maps that appear on the Records spreads illustrate ranges for all of the record holding animals presented on those pages Records spread From the Field