Scientist Classify or sort animals into groups in order to easily identify, sort and name animals 

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ANIMAL CLASSES

An animal class is made up of animals that are all alike in important ways.  Scientists have grouped animals into classes to make it easier to study them.

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There are many different animal classes and every animal in the world belongs to one of them. 

 

The five most well known classes of vertebrates (animals with backbones) are:

mammals

birds

fish

reptiles 

amphibians 

 

They are all part of the phylum chordata -- remember "chordata" by thinking of spinal chord.

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There are also a lot of animals without backbones.  These are called invertebrates and are part of the phylum arthropoda (arthropods).  Two of the most commonly known classes in this phylum are

arachnids (spiders) 

insects.