Fauna (Animals)
Amphibians: Amphibians are ectothermic, tetrapod vertebrates of the class Amphibia. Modern amphibians are all Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arboreal or freshwater aquatic ecosystems. Defining characteristics of these creatures include moist, scaleless skin and the fact that they are cold-blooded. Amphibians absorb water and undergo gas exchange through their skin. There are three orders of amphibians. Urodeles have legs and a tail, such as salamanders.
Arachnids: Arachnida is a class of joint-legged invertebrate animals, in the subphylum Chelicerata. Spiders are the largest order in the class, which also includes scorpions, ticks, mites, harvestmen, and solifuges. In 2019, a molecular phylogenetic study also placed horseshoe crabs in Arachnida.
Beetles: Beetles are a group of insects that form the order Coleoptera, in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects.
Birds: Birds, also known as Aves or avian dinosaurs, are a group of endothermic vertebrates, characterized by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight skeleton. Birds are important to humans in many ways; they are a source of food and fertilizer. Birds are important to the ecosystem in many ways; they pollinate flowers and disperse seeds.
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Butterflies: Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly colored wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises the large superfamily Papilionoidea, which contains at least one former group, the skippers (formerly the superfamily “Hesperioidea”), and the most recent analyses suggest it also contains the moth-butterflies (formerly the superfamily “Hedyloidea”). The butterfly fossils date to the Paleocene, which was about 56 million years ago. Important Components of a Thriving Ecosystem. This is due to the fact that butterflies are an important component of a food chain, as predators and prey. Adult butterflies and caterpillars are an important source of food for other animals such as bats and birds. Along with nectar, butterflies eat a variety of plants.
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Dragonflies: A dragonfly is an insect belonging to the order Odonata, infraorder Anisoptera. Adult dragonflies are characterized by large, multifaceted eyes, two pairs of strong, transparent wings, sometimes with colored patches, and an elongated body. Dragonflies and damselflies play key roles in both terrestrial and aquatic habitats. They are predators as both nymphs and adults, feeding on a variety of prey including nuisance species such as mosquitoes and biting flies.
Fishes: Fish are gill-bearing aquatic craniate animals that lack limbs with digits. Role in the Ecosystem: Fish play an integral role in ecosystem nutrient cycles. Fish recycle nutrients that are vital in the productivity and survival of organisms at the base of the aquatic food web.
Invertebrates: Invertebrates are animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column, derived from the notochord. This includes all animals apart from the subphylum Vertebrata. Familiar examples of invertebrates include arthropods, mollusks, annelids, and cnidarians. Some species of invertebrates are brilliant aerators of soil as well as creating it. In other words, invertebrates not only help us to grow food crops through pollination, but they also help create and maintain soil quality. This is important for growing in agriculture, as well as in gardens and allotments.
Mammals: Mammals are vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia, and characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding their young, a neocortex, fur or hair, and three middle ear bones. Importance to Ecosystems. Mammals have important roles in the food webs of practically every ecosystem. Mammals are important members of food chains and food webs, as grazers and predators. Mammals can feed at various levels of food chains, as herbivores, insectivores, carnivores and omnivores.
Reptiles: Reptiles are tetrapod animals in the class Reptilia, comprising today’s turtles, crocodilians, snakes, amphisbaenians, lizards, tuatara, and their extinct relatives. The study of these traditional reptile orders, historically combined with that of modern amphibians, is called herpetology. Reptiles are important components of the food webs in most ecosystems. They fill a critical role both as predator and prey species. … Reptile species can also have a useful anthropogenic role in ecosystems. In some areas, they help control the numbers of serious agricultural pests by consuming rodents and insect pests.