This document provides information about vertebrate animals, beginning with their taxonomic classification and then describing key characteristics of major vertebrate groups including fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. It outlines defining anatomical features for each group as well as examples of orders, classes, and important vocabulary terms.

1. Vertebrate AnimalsDOMAIN- Eukarya KINGDOM- AnimaliaPHYLUM- ChordataSUBPHYLUM- VertebrataCLASS- 7 differentORDERS- 10 Placental mammals

2. Phylum ChordataRecall that vertebrates are chordates.Phylum Chordata includes the lancelets and tunicates (invertebrate chordates) as well as the vertebratesAll chordates have:

3. Characteristics of all VertebratesEndoskeleton with a backbone for support of a dorsal nerve cord & muscle attachmentDistinct skull/cephalizationBilateral symmetry2 pairs of jointed appendagesCoelom Closed circulatory system & chambered heart

4. Vertebrate Evolution

6. Major Groups of VertebratesFish – aquatic tetrapods with scales, gills, & 2 chambered hearts

7. Agnathans – jawless fishes – hagfish and lampreys

8. Chondrichthyes – cartilagenous fish - sharks & rays

9. Osteichthyes – bony fish – mahi-mahi, tilapia, halibut, puffer fish, tetras, guppies

10. Amphibians – semiaquatic tetrapods with split lives & 3-chambered hearts

11. Anura – “tailless ones” – frogs & toads

12. Urodela – “tailed ones” – salamanders & newts

13. Apoda – “legless ones” - caecilians

14. Reptiles – terrestrial amniote tetrapods with scales & lungs & 3-ish to 4 chambered hearts

15. Squamata – lizards and snakes

16. Testudines – turtles & tortoises

17. Crocodilia – alligators, crocodiles, and related speciesBirds – terrestrial amniote tetrapods with feathers & lungs & 4 chambered hearts

18. Ratites – ostriches, emus, kiwis

19. Passeriformes – perching birds – jays, sparrows, crows, etc.

20. Aquatic birds – ducks, swans, geese

21. Raptors – eagles, falcolns, hawks

22. Penguins

23. Mammals – terrestrial amniote tetrapods with lungs, hair and mammary glands & 4 chambered hearts

24. Monotremes – echidna and platypus

25. Marsupials – koala, kangaroo, opossom

26. Placentals – humans, bears, tigers, giraffes, deer, pigs, dogs, cats, raccoons, squirrels, whales, walruses, manatees, etcFish VocabularyGill – respiratory structure that uses countercurrent exchange to extract oxygen from water

27. Operculum – gill covering in bony fish

28. Lateral line - a row of microscopic organs sensitive to pressure changes, can detect low frequency vibrations.

29. Swim bladder – internal, air-filled sac that acts as an organ for buoyancy in bony fish; sharks have oils in their livers to help them remain buoyant

30. Scale – small, platelike structure covering an organism (or parts of an organism); sharks, fish, reptiles, and birds all have different types of scales

31. Fin – paired appendage found on fish used for locomotion and steering

32. Reproduction

33. External fertilization – release of gametes to the environment where fertilization takes place; bony fish

34. Internal fertilization – deposition of sperm in the female reproductive tract where fertilization takes place; sharks

35. Hermaphrodite – some organisms are capable of producing both male and female gametes; few are capable of self-fertilization; most exchange sperm; evolutionary adaptation for solitary and slow-moving or sessile organisms

36. Ovoviviparous = eggs are fertilized inside the parent and hatch inside the parent and are born liveOviparous = eggs are laid in a nest or in the ground and hatchViviparous = internal fertilization with live born young (as soon as the egg is fertilized, it becomes an embryo and develops as a fetus).

37. Class AgnathaHagfish and lampreysJawless & finless

38. Skeleton of cartilage

39. Reproduce sexually