Select the one animal that has all of the bony fish traits listed above.
Common snapping turtles hatch from eggs with shells. They have powerful beaks. When a snapping turtle is threatened by a predator, it snaps its beak! Snapping turtles have scaly, waterproof skin. Common carp have a bony skeleton and lay eggs without shells. A single carp can lay over a million eggs per year! Carp live in freshwater and are eaten by people in many countries. Some colorful varieties are called koi.
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 cartilage.
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 cartilage.
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 common snapping turtle has the following traits:
It has scaly, waterproof skin.
It makes eggs with shells.
A common snapping turtle does not have all of the traits of a bony fish. A common snapping turtle is a reptile.
A common carp has the following traits:
It has fins, not limbs.
It lives underwater.
It has a skeleton made of cartilage.
It makes eggs with no shells.
A common carp has the traits of a bony fish. A common carp is a bony fish.