The keyword super refers to the parent class, so the line super(newName, newWeight); calls the constructor of the parent using the parameters newName and newWeight. If this call is not made, the parent class default constructor is used. The call using super must be the first statement in the constructor for the subclass. When building a subclass by inheriting it from a parent, only indicate the differencees between the subclass and parent class - a subclass always uses the methods of the parent class, unless the method is overridden.