Lizards in the desert. There are so many different kinds of animals all over the world! How are animals able to live in so many different kinds of places? The answer is adaptations. An adaptation is a characteristic that helps an animal survive in its habitat. All animals must be able to obtain food and water, protect themselves from harm, withstand the climate, and reproduce young so the species doesn't become extinct.
So, any animal who successfully survives on land or in water has physical or behavioral adaptations that help it to accomplish those goals. An adaptation can be a body part, body covering, body function, or behavior that increases an animal's chances of survival in a particular place. Animals develop these adaptations over time to match the environment where they live. The process of natural selection means that animals with traits that help them survive are more likely to live and pass on those traits to their offspring.
Those adaptations happen over long periods of time, as animals adapt to the conditions of the environment. It takes many generations for adaptations to develop. Although habitats provide food, water and shelter that animals need, there is more to survival than just the habitat. It is their own adaptations that allow animals to get food, stay safe, and reproduce within that specific habitat. Without their adaptations, the species could not thrive in that environment.
Animals live everywhere on Earth. Some places on Earth are very hot and some are very cold. Some places have a lot of water and plants, and some have very little. Animals can live in many different places in the world because they have special adaptations for the area in which they live.
For example, a monkey with agile limbs and a long tail for climbing is well adapted to the jungle, but would have a hard time in the cold, treeless polar regions. A shaggy, wooly musk ox is comfortable in the Arctic, but would not do well in a tropical climate.
Adaptations are what allows such a diversity of animal species to live on Earth's land, seas and skies. Through adaptations, animals have found ways to inhabit every environment on earth! Let's take a look at some of the amazing adaptations animals have developed. Physical adaptations include body parts, body coverings, and physiological characteristics that help animals survive, find food, and stay safe. The shape of a beak, the type of feet, the placement of eyes, the presence of whiskers, the shape of the nose or ears, and the sharpness of teeth are all examples of structural adaptations which help different animals to survive.
As shown in the picture on the right, different kinds of birds have adapted different kinds of beaks that help them obtain their particular source of food. Beaks come in all shapes and sizes. For example, a hawk has a sharp, curved beak to tear its food into small pieces.
A hummingbird has a long, thin beak to reach into flowers and get nectar. A parrot has a strong, thick beak to help it crack fruits and nuts. A pelican has a long beak with a pouch to help it scoop fish out of water.
All kinds of body parts may be adaptations. Horses and zebras have flat teeth for grinding their food grass , while lions have sharp teeth for tearing their food meat.
To escape predators , zebras also have excellent hearing and eyesight and powerful legs for running and kicking. Birds have hollow bones that help them fly. Ducks have oil glands that keep their feathers from becoming water-soaked, and webbed feet that help them to swim.
A woodpecker not only has a strong, sharp beak for drilling holes, but it also has a very long barbed tongue to catch insects, two toes that point backward to help with climbing trees, and a stiff tail for support on the tree.
Alligators have eyes and nostrils placed on top of their heads, allowing them to keep most of their body underwater so their prey cannot see them.
For river otters, whiskers are an adaptation that help them feel their way through tight spots both on land and in water. Badgers have sharp claws for digging burrows and tunnels and for obtaining food. Because they live underground, excellent vision is not an adaptation that they need; badgers and moles often have poor eyesight. Learn more about physical adaptations. Animals in the desert have special adaptations that help them conserve water and survive a habitat with extreme temperatures and lack of shelter.
Camels have humps where they can store fat, allowing them to go without food and water for periods of time. Camels also have two rows of long, thick eyelashes to protect their eyes from blowing sand, and their nostrils can be closed as well.
Their broad, leathery hooves act like snowshoes to prevent them from sinking in the sand. Other desert animals have different adaptations. Jackrabbits have large ears that keep them cool by spreading out their body heat. Fennec foxes have thick fur on the bottoms of their feet so they can walk on the hot desert ground. Learn more about desert adaptations. In polar habitats, animals also have important adaptations that allow them to keep warm and survive extreme cold.
For example, the penguin lives in the Antarctic and swims through icy cold water. Its feathers are tightly packed and layered like roof shingles. These special feathers keep cold water out and keep body heat in. The penguin's eyes have special lenses that allow it see both above and below the water. Its powerful wings help it swim through the water, and its feet help it steer as it swims.
Being able to stay warm, see well, and swim quickly helps the penguin find food and avoid predators. In the Arctic, polar bears have webbed front paws that are shaped to propel them through the water. The bottoms of their feet are covered with hairy bumps that grip the ice and keep them from slipping, and a layer of blubber insulates them from the cold.
Learn more about polar adaptations. Similar animals will often have different adaptations depending on where they live. For example, desert foxes have large ears for heat radiation, while Arctic foxes have small ears to retain body heat. Snowy owls have heavily feathered legs and feet, while elf owls, which live in warm, southern climates, have lightly feathered legs. Animals who live in the oceans have unique adaptations that allow them to move through water and defend themselves from marine predators.
For example, sharks have streamlined bodies for fast swimming, and noses with special sensors that let them sense electric fields put out by other fish and animals. Stingrays swim along the ocean floor, with their eyes on top of their bodies and their mouth on the bottom, so they can see while they're swimming and still take in food they find in the sand.
Lobsters use their claws to crush their food and their strong tails to move backward on the ocean floor. Harbor seals have four flippers to help them swim, with hind flippers to propel them forward and forward flippers to help them steer. Learn more about ocean adaptations. Some physical adaptations have more than one purpose. Horns and antlers may be used by animals to protect themselves, to fight with others for territory, or to attract a mate.
A crab's hard shell protects it from predators, from drying out, and from being crushed by waves. Sometimes, multiple species have adaptations that suit each other. For example, pollinating insects are co-adapted with flowering plants, with body parts that are designed to work together. In Africa, oxpecker birds sit on the backs of zebras and pick off lice and bugs for food, which benefits both animals.
Body coverings are an important adaptation for many animals. Mammals living in cold climates have thick fur to keep the heat in. Those living in warm climates have much thinner coats of hair or fur. For birds, feathers are an adaptation that serve several purposes: they keep birds warm in cold weather and cool when it's hot, allow them to fly, and help them attract mates.
Reptiles are covered with scales that serve to protect their bodies from environmental conditions. Fish have overlapping scales that not only protect them from injuries, but also reduce water resistance when the fish is swimming.
In addition, many fish are covered with a layer of slime which helps them move more quickly through the water. Another important adaption is known as camouflage. Many animals have colors or patterns that help them blend in with their habitat so they can successfully find food or hide from predators. Stripes and spots can help both predator and prey animals blend into their environment.
Animals with spotted fur often live in forested areas. The jaguar's spots help it blend in with the small patches of sun that reach the shady rainforest floor, while the snow leopard, who lives in snowy, wooded mountains, has spotted fur that helps it hide among the trees and snow.
Some green insects can look just like leaves on a tree. Brown rattlesnakes blend in with the rocks, soil and dry grass where they live. Bright-colored tropical fish can blend in with coral reefs. Cuttlefish and leaf frogs can change their appearance to match their surroundings.
The chameleon is a lizard that can change its skin color for camouflage. The snowshoe hare's fur color shifts with the season: it is brown in the summer and white in the winter to blend in with the snow. Learn more about camouflage. Sometimes coloring is an adaptation with a different purpose than camouflage. For example, the male peacock's colorful tail display is used to attract a mate.
Some poisonous frogs and butterflies have bright, vivid colors that make them stand out from their surroundings and serve as a warning to predators to stay away. For some animals, their appearance mimics a non-food object, or they resemble a harmful or distasteful animal that predators avoid. This adaptation to imitate something else to fool predators is called mimicry. Monkeys Discover important animal facts. There are many species of monkeys in South America and Africa.
There are even monkeys in Asia. National Wildlife Federation's Ranger Rick Rick and his friends tackle many threats to wildlife and the environment. They get up close to nature and encourage kids to do the same.
All About Sharks Sharks never run out of teeth. A shark's jaw is lined with many rows of teeth. A shark may go through thousands of teeth during its lifetime. It an adaptation for an animal that depends on its teeth for survival.
Ball Python How are large snakes such as pythons able to swallow prey that is bigger than their own heads? It's because their jaws are adapted to do so. The bones of their mouth are loosely joined to their skulls. Beavers Find out how beavers are adapted for underwater work. Bobcat A bobcat's canine teeth, the four long, sharp pointed teeth in the front of their mouths, are spaced just exactly far enough apart to separate the vertebrae of rabbits so that they can kill them with one bite.
Desert Animal Survival Find out how animals adapt to desert conditions. The two main adaptations that desert animals must make are how to deal with lack of water and how to deal with extremes in temperature. The Dinosauria Why did dinosaurs disappear? Was it because they were unable to adapt to the changing climate of the earth?
Frogland Frogs are carnivores. They eat insects, spiders, worms, snails, fish, and even small rodents like mice. When a frog spots a tasty meal, it flicks out its long, sticky tongue. In the winter, they migrate to a warmer place where there is more food.
In the spring, they return to breed. Learn more about animal migrations of all kinds from the website. Naked Mole Rat Moles are among the best diggers in the animal world.
They actually have shovel-shaped hands and long nails, and their chest muscles are very strong to push dirt. Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation Elk make slight cracking noises when they walk. Those noises are an adaptation that help them keep in touch with each other. These characteristics are largely determined by their genes, which are passed down from their parents and subsequently passed down to their own offspring. Some of these characteristics, or traits, provide competitive advantages like speed, strength, or attractiveness.
If those traits are particularly helpful, individuals with those traits will produce more offspring than those without. Over generations, the number of individuals with that advantageous trait, or adaptation , will increase until it becomes a general attribute of the species.
Structural and Behavioral Adaptations An adaptation can be structural, meaning it is a physical part of the organism. An adaptation can also be behavioral, affecting the way an organism responds to its environment. An example of a structural adaptation is the way some plants have adapted to life in dry, hot deserts.
Plants called succulents have adapted to this climate by storing water in their short, thick stems and leaves. Seasonal migration is an example of a behavioral adaptation. Gray whales Eschrichtius robustus migrate thousands of kilometers every year as they swim from the cold Arctic Ocean in summer to the warm waters off the coast of Mexico to winter.
Grey whale calves are born in the warm southern water, and then travel in groups called pods to the nutrient -rich waters of the Arctic. Adaptations that develop in response to one challenge sometimes help with or become co-opted for another. Feathers were probably first adaptations for tactile sense or regulating temperature.
Later, feathers became longer and stiffer, allowing for gliding and then for flight. Such traits are called exaptations. Some traits, on the other hand, lose their function when other adaptations become more important or when the environment changes.
Evidence of these traits remain in a vestigial form — reduced or functionless. Whales and dolphins have vestigial leg bones, the remains of an adaptation legs that their ancestors used to walk. A famous example of an animal adapting to a change in its environment is England's peppered moth Biston betularia. Prior to the 19 th century, the most common type of this moth was cream-colored with darker spots. Few peppered moths were gray or black. As the Industrial Revolution changed the environment, the appearance of the peppered moth changed.
The darker-colored moths, which were rare, began to thrive in the urban atmosphere. Their sooty color blended in with the trees, which were stained by industrial pollution.
The cream-colored moths began to make a comeback after the United Kingdom passed laws that limited air pollution.
Speciation Sometimes, an adaptation or set of adaptations develops that splits one species into two. This process is known as speciation.
Marsupials in Oceania are an example of adaptive radiation , a type of speciation in which species develop to fill a variety of empty ecological niches. Marsupials, mammals that carry their developing young in pouches after a short pregnancy, arrived in Oceania before the land split from Asia. Koalas Phascolarctos cinereus , for instance, adapted to feed on eucalyptus trees, which are native to Australia.
The extinct Tasmanian tiger Thylacinus cynocephalus was a carnivorous marsupial and adapted to the niche filled by big cats, like tigers, on other continents.
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