DK - WOW! The Visual Encyclopedia of Everything

(^5) PARASOL MUSHROOM Some fungi, like the penny bun and parasol mushroom, are good to eat. But if you are not an expert at iden ...

All living things fall into one of five categories, or “kingdoms” bacteria and protists (single-celled organisms), fungi, plant ...

21 10 FISH Fish were the first vertebrates, and the ancestors of all amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds. They are perfectl ...

The sunlit surface waters of many oceans teem with life, most of it microscopic, that drifts with the currents. The whole drifti ...

23 COPEPODS Many animals spend their entire lives as members of the zooplankton. They include the tiny shrimp-like copepods, whi ...

Insects are the most successful creatures on Earth. Beetles alone account for almost a third of all known animal species. Many i ...

BEETLES Most beetles can be recognized by the hard, shiny wing-cases that hide their delicate wings. Some have long horns or jaw ...

Many insects start life as soft-skinned grubs, or larvae, but eventually they all turn into adults with hard, segmented bodies a ...

27 (^6) WINGS The wings of an insect like this wasp are thin, transparent plates of chitin. Butterfly and moth wings are similar ...

Fish were the first animals with backbones to appear on Earth, more than 500 million years ago. They have since evolved into a w ...

Piranhas stick together in shoals for safety Long, pointed jaws have big, sharp teeth to give the pike a good grip on slippery p ...

30 All animals get the nutrients they need by eating plants, animals, or other organisms such as bacteria or fungi. Some of thes ...

31 (^7) TAPEWORM This parasite lives in the intestines of another animal – including some people. Since it is surrounded by pre- ...

32 This varied group of invertebrates includes around 67,000 known species. Crustaceans take their name from the hard, jointed s ...

33 (^4) LOBSTER Weighed down by their heavy shells, lobsters usually walk on the sea floor, but they can swim backwards to escap ...

Although amphibians look a little like scaly reptiles, they do not have waterproof skin, so cannot live in hot, dry places where ...

Frogs cannot chew, but they have huge mouths so that they can swallow their prey whole (^10) CAECILIAN Worm-like caecilians burr ...

All animals pass through different stages of life as they grow into fully developed adults. The first stage is the start of a ne ...

(^4) the same way as its parents, The young turtle feeds in but takes smaller food items. (^2) An embryo develops inside the bur ...

38 ◀ VENOM AND CLAWS Many animals have venomous bites or stings that they can use to kill their prey and to defend themselves. A ...