©Melissa Montey 2012

©Melissa Montey 2012

©Melissa Montey 2012
Animals of the World- Geography, Art, and Science
Children can color and cut out these animals from different
regions of the world, matching them with the continent they
call “home” on the map provided. You can also print a
second copy of the blank continents and cut them out to
form Pangaea.

Parent/Teacher Matching Guide-

North America: Raccoon and Longhorn Steer

South America: Chinchilla, Toucan, and Poison Dart Frog

Europe: Mountain Goat and Red Fox

Asia: Giant Panda and Giant Tortoise

Africa: Lion and Nile Crocodile

Austrailia: Kangaroo and Platypus

Antarctica: Penguin

Lesson
Every animal is designed specially to live in very specific conditions. Some animals have a “winning” design that allows them to spread all over the
globe, and they can be found in many locations, but most can be found only in certain places. One example of a “winning” design is that of the
crocodile- he has many relatives that can be found all over the world, and his features have remained almost exactly the same for millions of years.
He has been around since the time of the dinosaurs and can be found in most all warm/moist climates, with alligators in North America, caiman in
South America, and of course the largest and oldest of the species- the Nile crocodile in Africa. The Giant Panda, however, can only be found in
Asia, because he is specifically designed to eat and digest massive amounts of bamboo, which grows only in Asia. Similarly, almost all penguin
species can be found only in Antarctica, as they have been specially adapted to endure this frigid climate.

©Melissa Montey 2012

Many geographical factors contribute to the creation of different biomes that create these specific conditions for which animals have evolved
specialized adaptations in order to make the most of what is available to them. You will find species with similar characteristics in areas of the
continents that have the same biome. The amount of sun and water a location receives combine to produce certain varieties of plants (flora),
which in turn leads to the evolution of different animals (fauna). A lot of sunlight and very little
water, for example, will result in a desert climate with few plants. Only the animals and plants that
have evolved specifically to handle the harsh desert conditions of extreme dry heat will be able to
survive in the desert, like cactus and the desert hare.

Evolution is a very slow process that allows organisms to change and take advantage of their special
living conditions. Changes to the geography of the planet also happen very slowly through a process
known as plate tectonics. Millions of years ago, the continents were all massed together in a single
“super continent” known as Pangaea. Animals could cross from one continent to another with ease
when they were all connected, and with time the continents split along the fault lines of different
plates, separating animals from one another and altering the climate conditions. As such, we can
sometimes find very similar animals on different continents, because they had a common ancestor.
Most big cat species, for example, are found in Africa (lions, tigers, cheetahs, and leopards), but
Asia, North America and South America each have their own big cats- the snow leopard, cougar, and jaguar respectively.

Questions
Where can you go to find more information about biomes, the specific animals in your cut outs, and more animals around the globe?

Possible answers: The internet, the encyclopedia, the library, ask a teacher or parent, the zoo, etc.

Why are different animals found on different continents?

Student/Child should be able to articulate their understanding of the lesson material in a written or spoken answer to this question, covering the
topics of evolution, adaptations for different conditions in different biomes, and plate tectonics.

Matching quiz-

Have the student/child identify the continents, the animals, and match the animals to the continent where they belong

©Melissa Montey 2012

Definitions
Adaptations- the development of physical and behavioral characteristics that allow organisms to survive and reproduce in their habitats

Ancestor- the actual or hypothetical form or stock from which an organism has developed or descended

Biomes- a division of the world's vegetation that corresponds to a defined climate and is characterized by specific types of plants and animals

Evolution- the natural or artificially induced process by which new and different organisms develop as a result of changes in genetic material

Fault lines- a linear feature on the Earth's surface, occurring where displaced rock layers have broken through the Earth's surface

Fauna- the animal life of a particular region or period, considered as a whole

Flora- plant life, especially all the plants found in a particular country, region, or time regarded as a group

Organism- a living thing

Pangaea- A hypothetical supercontinent that included all the landmasses of the earth before the Triassic Period

Plate tectonics- a theory that ascribes continental drift, volcanic and seismic activity, and the formation of mountain belts to moving plates of the
Earth's crust supported on less rigid mantle rocks

Resources
Lesson and animal cut outs are the original work of Melissa Montey.

Definitions were provided by dictionary.com, and the biome map was provided by Pearson Education Inc.

©Melissa Montey 2012