Animal

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Cows, a type of animal
Humans, also a type of animal (female [left] and male [right])
An animal (rabbit) visualized as a anthro character, as per artist Dustmeat.

Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia.

Overview

With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, have myocytes and are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and grow from a hollow sphere of cells, the blastula, during embryonic development.

There are 2.16 million living animal species have been described—of which around 1.05 million are insects (Insecta), over 85,000 are molluscs (Mollusca), and around 65,000 that are vertebrates.

It has been estimated there are around 7.77 million animal species, and they range in length from 0.00033 inches (8.5 micrometers) to 110 feet (33.6 meters). They have complex interactions with each other and their environments, forming intricate food webs.

The scientific study of animals is known as zoology.

Humans

Biologically, humans (modern humans [Homo sapiens]) fall under the animal kingdom and are in this sense animals. However, sometimes confusion arises because the word is also used contrastively with "human", indicating non-human animals.

They make use of many animal species, such as for food (including meat, milk, and eggs), for materials (such as leather and wool), as pets, and as working animals including for transport. Dogs have been used in hunting, as have birds of prey, while many terrestrial and aquatic animals were hunted for sports.

Non-human animals have appeared in art since the earliest times and are featured in mythology and religion.

Animals and furry

Animals (normally anthropomorphic) are the main cornerstone of the furry fandom culture, and they are normally called furries, anthros, or funny animals, and their attributes include exhibiting human intelligence and facial expressions, speaking, walking on two legs (with a few exceptions; i.e. hexapeds, octopeds, pedes, pentapeds, and quadrupeds [quads]), and (most of the time) wearing clothes.

An anthro animal character created by someone to represent them as their persona or identity is called fursona and can be displayed via graphic art|, writing, as a plush, a sculpture, a fursuit, etc.

Origin

Animal characters, normally known as original characters (OC, i.e not derived from any official media sources ["canon"]) can also be categorized by their origin:

  • Author-based - Not associated with any product, with some borrowed art styles from some artistic medias
  • Fan-based - Created by furry fans of the universe of any work, to fit in with the fictional universe and/or characters of that particular story. Generally found in fan fiction, but can also be a fursona or roleplay character.

See also

External links

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