Kingdom Animalia

Syllabus tag: KCSE | Biology | Form 1 | Topic 2 Classification I

Lesson objectives

By the end of this topic, you should be able to:

• State the general characteristics of Kingdom Animalia.
• Distinguish invertebrates from vertebrates.
• State the main features of the major invertebrate phyla.
• State the main features of the five classes of vertebrates.

Summary

Animalia contains multicellular organisms with no cell wall and no chlorophyll, which feed on ready-made food and usually move about. The kingdom divides into invertebrates, lacking a backbone, and vertebrates, possessing one. Invertebrates make up the great majority of animal species; vertebrates form a single phylum divided into five classes.