list and describe the main characteristics of the kingdom animalia
Animal Animals have several characteristics that set them apart from other living things. Animals are eukaryotic and multicellular,[5][6] which separates them from prokaryotic bacteria and eukaryotic but unicellular protists. Unlike plants and algae, which produce their own nutrients (and, with fungi, have rigid cell walls),[7] animals are heterotrophic,[6][8] consuming organic material and digesting it internally.[9] With very few exceptions, animals breathe oxygen and respire aerobically.[10] All animals are motile[11] (able to spontaneously move their bodies) during at least part of their life cycle, but some animals, such as sponges, corals, mussels, and barnacles, later become sessile. The blastula is a stage in embryonic development that is unique to most animals,[12] allowing cells to be differentiated into specialized tissues and organs.