Select the one animal that has all of the bony fish traits listed above.
Red salamanders do not have lungs! They can breathe through their moist, smooth skin. Adult red salamanders live near rivers or ponds. They lay eggs with no shells under rocks or logs. The baby red salamanders live underwater. Japanese red rockfish live in the Pacific Ocean. They have a bony skeleton and fins. They hatch from eggs with no shells. Rockfish are carnivorous. Carnivorous animals are adapted to eat other animals.
Bony fish are a group of animals with similar traits. The following traits can be used to identify bony fish:
They have fins, not limbs.
They live underwater.
They have a skeleton made of bone.
They make eggs with no shells. Observe the animals and read the descriptions.
Scientists sort animals with similar traits into groups. This is called classification. Classification helps scientists learn about how animals live.
How do scientists classify animals? First, they make observations about an animal. Scientists observe the animal's traits, including its body parts and behavior. Then, scientists compare the animal's traits to other animals' traits. Scientists classify animals with similar traits into a group.
To decide if an animal is part of a group, look at the traits of the group.
Bony fish have the following traits:
They have fins, not limbs.
They live underwater.
They have a skeleton made of bone.
They make eggs with no shells.
Compare each animal's traits to the group's traits. Select the animal with traits similar to the group's traits.
A red salamander has the following traits:
It spends part of its life in water and part on land.
It has moist skin.
It makes eggs with no shells.
A red salamander does not have all of the traits of a bony fish. A red salamander is an amphibian.
A Japanese red rockfish has the following traits:
It has fins, not limbs.
It lives underwater.
It has a skeleton made of bone.
It makes eggs with no shells.
A Japanese red rockfish has the traits of a bony fish. A Japanese red rockfish is a bony fish.