Animal Characteristics | Animal Characteristics Game - Free Printable

Let’s go step by step to fill in the table correctly.

We are comparing 5 animal groups: Fish, Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds, and Mammals.
For each group, we answer 5 questions about their characteristics.

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1. Warm blood or cold blood?

- Fish: Cold-blooded (their body temperature changes with water)
- Amphibians: Cold-blooded (like frogs — they get colder when it’s cold outside)
- Reptiles: Cold-blooded (snakes, lizards — they sunbathe to warm up)
- Birds: Warm-blooded (they keep same body temp no matter weather)
- Mammals: Warm-blooded (humans, dogs, cats — always same internal temp)

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2. Type of body covering?

- Fish: Scales (slippery, protect them in water)
- Amphibians: Moist skin (no scales, fur, or feathers — just smooth, wet skin)
- Reptiles: Dry scales (hard, scaly skin like snakes and turtles)
- Birds: Feathers (for flying and staying warm)
- Mammals: Hair or fur (even whales have a little hair!)

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3. Live birth or hatch from egg?

- Fish: Hatch from eggs (most lay eggs in water)
- Amphibians: Hatch from eggs (frog eggs turn into tadpoles)
- Reptiles: Hatch from eggs (turtles, crocodiles, most snakes lay eggs)
- Birds: Hatch from eggs (all birds lay eggs)
- Mammals: Mostly live birth (except platypus and echidna — but for school level, say “live birth”)

*Note: For simplicity at this level, we’ll say mammals = live birth.*

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4. Feeds young with milk?

- Fish: No (babies find food on their own)
- Amphibians: No (tadpoles eat algae or small things)
- Reptiles: No (baby reptiles hunt right away)
- Birds: No (parents feed them bugs or seeds, not milk)
- Mammals: Yes! All mammals make milk for babies (that’s what makes them mammals!)

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5. Has a skeleton?

- Fish: Yes (bony fish have skeletons; even sharks have cartilage skeletons — still counts as having a skeleton)
- Amphibians: Yes (frogs have bones inside)
- Reptiles: Yes (lizards, snakes — all have backbones)
- Birds: Yes (lightweight bones for flying)
- Mammals: Yes (we all have skeletons!)

*All these animals are vertebrates — meaning they have backbones/skeletons.*

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Now let’s put it all together in the table format:

| Characteristic | Fish | Amphibians | Reptiles | Birds | Mammals |
|----------------------------|--------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
| Warm blood or cold blood? | Cold | Cold | Cold | Warm | Warm |
| Type of body covering? | Scales | Moist skin | Dry scales | Feathers | Hair/Fur |
| Live birth or hatch from egg? | Hatch from egg | Hatch from egg | Hatch from egg | Hatch from egg | Live birth |
| Feeds young with milk | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Has a skeleton | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |

Final Answer:
The completed table is:

| Characteristic | Fish | Amphibians | Reptiles | Birds | Mammals |
|----------------------------|--------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|----------------|
| Warm blood or cold blood? | Cold | Cold | Cold | Warm | Warm |
| Type of body covering? | Scales | Moist skin | Dry scales | Feathers | Hair/Fur |
| Live birth or hatch from egg? | Hatch from egg | Hatch from egg | Hatch from egg | Hatch from egg | Live birth |
| Feeds young with milk | No | No | No | No | Yes |
| Has a skeleton | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |