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Time to start our brand new science topic - animals and their habitats, a personal favourite of mine.

There are about 8.7 million different species - types of living thing - alive on planet Earth right now. That's an awful lot - some of them have more in common with each other than others. All life on our planet is related, but we try and group living things based on how closely they are related. One of the most obvious differences that we can use to classify and group animals is whether or not they have a backbone.


The bones in your back are called vertebrae, they make up the long line of bones called the spine, or backbone. Lots and lots of living creatures have a spine - you do, if you have a dog or cat when you stroke them you can probably feel that they do too. But not all animals do - in fact, most don't! 95% of animals are invertebrates, that means they lack a backbone (but this is not the same as having no skeleton!) have a look at this clip to find out which animals get by without a spine.


Log onto PurpleMash and test your knowledge with Day 36 - Vertebrates and invertebrates


We're not finished yet - we're going on a bug hunt. We normally do this on the field and find absolutely loads of invertebrates, obviously we can't right now so I want you to hunt in your home, garden, out and about on a walk, for any invertebrates you can spot. Here are examples of some common ones in Britain; 


When you find them, have a look at where they are living. Is it in grass, on a leaf, in litter, underneath bark? This is called its habitat. Take a picture if you can, but remember, we're hunting not harming - they can be delicate so don't pick them up. Good luck and we'll see who spots the most!