Animal Groups — Answer Key
Part A: Fill in the Blank
Write the missing word or number on each line.
1. Mammals have fur or hair.
An insect always has six legs connected to its middle body section. If an animal has more or fewer legs, it is not an insect.
2. A goldfish is a fish.
A bear's thick coat of fur traps warm air next to its skin like a blanket, keeping its body toasty in cold forests and snowy mountains.
3. Reptiles have dry scales.
A turtle's shell is made of bone and is joined to its backbone, so the turtle can hide its head and legs inside when something scary comes near.
4. An ant is an insect.
A robin flaps its two feathered wings up and down to push air underneath, and that lifts the small bird up into the sky.
5. A parrot is a bird.
Amphibians are a special group of animals that can live both in water and on land, and salamanders fit right in because they do both.
6. Frogs can live on land and in water.
Lizards and snakes are reptiles, and all reptiles are covered in small, tough scales that make their skin look dry and bumpy.
7. A whale is a mammal.
A mother cat makes milk in her body to feed her kittens, and feeding milk to babies is one of the main things that makes an animal a mammal.
8. Butterflies are insects.
A clownfish has gills on the sides of its head that take oxygen out of the ocean water as the fish swims near its coral home.
9. Birds lay eggs.
Bees and butterflies both have six legs, three body parts, and a pair of antennae, which are all the signs that tell you an animal is an insect.
Part B: Matching
Match each item on the left to the correct answer on the right.
1. Match each item to its correct answer.
bear
→ mammal
mammal
eagle
→ bird
bird
salmon
→ fish
fish
beetle
→ insect
insect
A turtle has scaly skin so it is a reptile, a parrot has feathers so it is a bird, an ant has six legs so it is an insect, and a tuna has gills so it is a fish.