Snake Species and Classification Classifying Animals There are

Snake Species and Classification

Classifying Animals • There are billions of different living organisms on earth. • Scientist created a way to name and classify organisms according to their similarities and differences. • This system includes seven groups that are organized into broad or general characteristics to more specific traits.

The Seven Classifying groups

Kingdom and Species The kingdom group includes millions of different kinds of organisms. Species is the smallest group. Species include all animals of the same type that can breed together.

Classification Snakes are classified as reptilia under their class group. Other organisms included in the reptilia group are lizard, turtles, crocodiles and birds. Reptiles are considered cold-blooded vertebrates that diverged from ancestral amphibians.

The Tree

Snakes’ order Snakes are under the squamata order in the classification tree. The squamata order have the characteristic of shedding their skin. How much a snake sheds its skin depends on its age. Squamata order also have the characteristic of having a uniquely jointed skull and jaw. This unique skull and jaw allows the snake to open its mouth very wide for prey.

Breaking them down Snakes are then broken down into further categories by family, genius and species. Snakes are broken down by their size, habitat, body type, diet, and how they give birth to their young. There are more than 3, 000 snake species in the world, but that number is debatable because not all scientist agree on how to classify each snake!