Download Adapt Your Own Animal

Adapt Your Own Animal
You have been learning that animals develop adaptations over time that allow them to survive
in harsh environments. The elephant cools its blood by flapping its ears; a rhino has its thick
skin to protect it from thorns; a zebra travels in a herd and has stripes so that individuals are
hard to hunt. You are now going to design your own animal with an adaptation.
Directions:
Pick ONE of the challenges below and come up with an animal that has 3 adaptations to help it
compensate for the problem. Your adaptation should be a natural type of adaptation - no
strapping a flashlight to the head of the animal so that it can see better at night! You must
complete an illustration and write a scientific name for your new species.
Illustration:
 Draw the animal with its new adaptations.
 Point to the adaptations on the animal and label the adaptations with a short explanation.
Name:
 Use the list of Greek and Latin roots to choose a scientific name for your animal species
that includes all 3 adaptations you chose as well as the animal name. This name is to be
written below your illustration.
CHALLENGES (choose one)
Animal A: A yellow and orange clown fish lives in dark green tropical coral. It needs some
protection from larger fish that prey on it. Its major food source is dying off and new food
sources live in deeper, colder waters. Other small fish at this water level tend to swim faster
than this clown fish can swim.
Animal B: A small mammal living in the forest has trouble finding food at night. It hides during
the day. It has yellow fur and is hunted easily by 3 different species of predators in its
environment.
Animal C: A bird cannot reach insects it wants to eat, because they’re in hard-to-reach
places. The winter months are very cold, and the bird’s shivering gives it away when it is hiding
from predators. When shivering, the bird has trouble holding on to tree branches.
Animal D: A reptile is cold blooded and lives in a dark rainforest. It needs to warm up quickly
in the sun in order to get moving. When it’s unable to warm up fast enough, it is often hunted
because it can’t run from its predator. When jumping from tree to tree, it sometimes slips on
the wet branches.
Animal E: A polar bear in the arctic has trouble finding food. The layers of ice in its
environment have been getting thicker, which makes it harder to reach the fish underneath. It
often slips on the ice. The thicker snow makes it harder for the bear to run away from human
hunters.
Animal F: A mammal needs to eat leaves from the thorny bushes in Africa. It needs help in
getting its food without getting stuck in the bushes or eating the thorns. Its thick fur often
makes it sweat and leaves it dehydrated.
Greek and Latin Roots:
cerebro- brain
cerv- neck
ch(e)ir- hand
chel- turtle
cheno- goose
chil- lip
corn- horn
corp- body
crani- skull
crass- thick
crispus curled
cyan- blue
cycl- circular
cyno- dog
delphis- dolphin
dent- tooth
derm- skin
digit- finger
don't- tooth
dors- back
dulci- sweet
duo- two
dur- hard
echino- spiny
entolenter- inside
equi- horse, equal
feli- cat
gale- weasel
gast(e)r- stomach,
pouch
glo(ss/tt)- tongue
glut- sticky
oxys, oxus- sharp,
pointed
pachy- thick
pect(or)- chest
pisc- fish
plum- feather
pod- foot
polio- grey
poll(ex)- thumb
porc- pig
quadr- four
quarter- four
quin)- five
rach- spine
ran- frog
repens- crawling
retro- behind,
backward
rhin- nose, snout
rhodo- red
sex- six
simi- monkey
sol- sun
soma- body
sphinct- closing
spinos- spiny
squam- scale
tetr- four
thalass- sea
trago- goat
tri- three
ungui- nail, claw
ventr- bel
hetero- different
helminth- worm
a(n)- without
acanth- prickle
acer- without horns
acri- acrid, sharp
adipo- fat
aegopod- goat-foot
al(i)- wing
alb- white
alopec- fox
altissim- tall
amplex- clasping
andr- male
angusti- narrow
anser- geese
arach- spider
arthro- joint
ater, atra- black
aur- ear, gold
avi- bird
bdella- sucker
bell- pretty
bi- two
bov- ox
brachi- arm
brachy- short
branch- gill
brevi- short
bucca- mouth cavity
bullat- wrinkled
cani- dog
cap(it)- head
capill- hair
cauda- tail
cera(s)(t)- horn
cerc- horns, lobes, short tail
hippo- horse
hirsut- hairy
homal- flat
hyo- U-shaped
leo(n)- lion
lepid- scale
lepto- slender
leuc- white
ling- tongue
lip- fat
mala- cheek
manu- hand
maritim- of the sea
marsupium- pouch
masseter- chewer
mat(e)ri- mother
maxi- large
maxill- jaw
medi- medium
mega- large
mel(l)i- honey
melan- black
micro- small
muri- mouse
narls- nose
nema- hair
odont- tooth
omm- eye
omo- shoulder
oo- egg
ophi- snake
ophthalmo- eye
or- mouth
ovi- sheep
hamat- hook
heira- hawk