A social animal is a loosely defined term for an organism that is highly interactive with other members of its species to the point of having a recognizable and distinct society. In biology and ecology, an organism (in Greek organon = instrument) is a complex adaptive system of organs that influence each other in such a way that they function as a more or less stable whole and have properties of life. ... Interaction is a kind of action which occurs as two or more objects have an effect upon one another. ... In biology, a species is the basic unit of biodiversity. ... Human relationships within an ethnically diverse society For other uses, see Society (disambiguation). ...

All animals are social to some extent—sexual reproduction requires animals to come in contact together in order to mate, and in animals showing any degree of parental care there is a minimal social unit of one or more parents and their offspring. The term "social animal" is usually only applied when there is a level of social organization that goes beyond this, with permanent groups of adults living together, and relationships between individuals that endure from one encounter to another. Sexual reproduction is a type of reproduction that results in increasing genetic diversity of the offspring. ... Coition of a Hemisected Man and Woman (c. ... A social animal is a loosely defined term for an organism that is highly interactive with other members of its species to the point of having a recognizable and distinct society. ...

Animal social behavior and organization is studied in comparative psychology, ethology, sociobiology, behavioral ecology and computer science (artificial intelligence). Typical issues in social behaviour are: Comparative psychology, taken in its most usual, broad sense, refers to the study of the behavior and mental life of animals other than human beings. ... Ethology is the scientific study of animal behavior considered as a branch of zoology. ... Sociobiology is a synthesis of scientific disciplines that attempts to explain behaviour in all species by considering the evolutionary advantages of social behaviours. ... Behavioral ecology is the study of the ecological and evolutionary basis for animal behavior, and the roles of behavior in enabling an animal to adapt to its environment (both intrinsic and extrinsic). ... Computer science is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their implementation and application in computer systems. ... Hondas intelligent humanoid robot Artificial intelligence (AI) is defined as intelligence exhibited by an artificial entity. ...

• What is the typical size of the group? What factors limit group size? What factors lead to groups merging or splitting?
• Does the species show territoriality? If so, to what extent? If territories are maintained, what is their purpose? Are they held by an individual or a group?
• Are there permanent social dominance relationships within the group? Is there any pattern within them?

A few species, notably insects of the orders Hymenoptera (ants, bees and wasps) and Isoptera (termites) show an extreme form of sociality, involving highly organized societies, with individual organisms specialized for distinct roles. This form of social behavior is referred to as eusociality. Some vertebrates, most notably the Naked Mole Rat, are also eusocial. It has been suggested that intruder be merged into this article or section. ... A dominance hierarchy is an organizational form by which individuals within a community control the distribution of resources (goods and services) within the community. ... Scientific classification or biological classification refers to how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Suborders Apocrita Symphyta Many families, see article Hymenoptera is one of the larger orders of Insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. ... Subfamilies Dorylomorph subfamilies Apomyrminae Cerapachyinae Dorylinae Ecitoninae Formicomorph subfamilies: Aneuretinae Dolichoderinae Formicinae - e. ... Families Andrenidae Apidae Colletidae Halictidae Heterogynaidae Megachilidae Melittidae Oxaeidae Stenotritidae Bee collecting pollen Bees (Apoidea superfamily) are flying insects, closely related to wasps and ants. ... WASP (an acronym for White Anglo-Saxon Protestant) is a term, sometimes derogatory, that denotes either an ethnic group, or the culture, customs, and heritage of the American elite establishment. ... Families Mastotermitidae Kalotermitidae Termopsidae Hodotermitidae Rhinotermitidae Serritermitidae Termitidae Reference: Earthlife as of 2002-07-26 A termite (also known as a white ant) is any member of the order Isoptera, a group of social insects that eat wood and other cellulose-rich vegetable matter. ... Families Reticulitermes spp. ... Specialization is an important way to generate propositional knowledge, by applying general knowledge, such as the theory of gravity, to specific instances, such as when I release this apple, it will fall to the floor. Specialization is the opposite of generalization. ... A function is part of an answer to a question about why some object or process occurred in a system that evolved or was designed with some goal. ... Eusociality is the phenomenon of reproductive specialisation found in some species of animal. ... Vertebrata is a subphylum of chordates, specifically, those with backbones or spinal columns. ... Binomial name Heterocephalus glaber Rüppell, 1842 The Naked Mole Rat (Heterocephalus glaber), also known as the Sand Puppy, or desert mole rat, is a very unusual burrowing rodent native to parts of East Africa, predominately South Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. ...

Some animals whose social behavior is of particular interest:

• Humans (Homo sapiens)
• Gorillas (Gorilla gorilla)
• Dogs (Canis familiaris or Canis lupus familiaris)
• Wolves (Canis lupus)
• Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)
• Lions (Panthera leo)
• Bonobos (Pan paniscus)

Trinomial name Homo sapiens sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 Humans, or human beings, are biologically classified as bipedal primates belonging to the mammalian species Homo sapiens (Latin for wise man or thinking man) under the family Hominidae (the great apes). ... Type Species Troglodytes gorilla Savage, 1847 Species Gorilla gorilla Gorilla beringei The gorilla, the largest of the primates, is a ground-dwelling herbivore that inhabits the forests of Africa. ... Trinomial name Canis lupus familiaris (Linnaeus, 1758) This article is about the domestic dog. ... Wolf Wolf Man Mount Wolf Wolf Prizes Wolf Spider Wolf 424 Wolf 359 Wolf Point Wolf-herring Frank Wolf Friedrich Wolf Friedrich August Wolf Hugo Wolf Johannes Wolf Julius Wolf Max Franz Joseph Cornelius Wolf Maximilian Wolf Rudolf Wolf Thomas Wolf As Name Wolf Breidenbach Wolf Hirshorn Other The call... Type Species Simia troglodytes Blumenbach, 1775 Species Pan troglodytes Pan paniscus Chimpanzee, often shortened to chimp, is the common name for the two species in the genus Pan. ... Binomial name Panthera leo (Linnaeus, 1758) The Lion (Panthera leo) is a mammal of the family Felidae. ... Binomial name Pan paniscus Schwarz, 1929 The Bonobo (Pan paniscus), until recently usually called the Pygmy Chimpanzee and less often the Dwarf or Gracile Chimpanzee, is one of the two species comprising the chimpanzee genus, Pan. ...

See also

Sociobiology Sociobiology is a synthesis of scientific disciplines that attempts to explain behaviour in all species by considering the evolutionary advantages of social behaviours. ...