#Vertebrates #biology #science #FSC #BSC #MSC #MPHILL #PHD #MATRICULATION #MBBS #DPT

1. Vertebrates
Sarah Ashfaq

2. History
• Vertebrates originated during the Cambrian explosion, which saw a
rise in organism diversity. The earliest known vertebrates belongs to
the Chengjiang biota and lived about 518 million years ago.

3. Definition
• Vertebrates
• Vertebrates are animals with vertebral column, spine or backbone.

4. Examples
• Elephants
• Giraffes
• Leopards
• Dogs
• Cats
• Deer
• Wolves
• Whales
•Sharks
•Dolphins
•Snakes
•Goldfish
•Salmon
•Trout
•Manta Rays
•Frogs
•Toads
•Lizards
•Owls
•Eagles
•Flamingo
•Ostriches
•Humans

6. Figure: Fossilized skeleton (cast) of Diplodocus carnegii, showing an extreme example of the backbone that
characterizes the vertebrates.
Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertebrate

7. 5 Groups of Vertebrates
The five main groups of vertebrates are fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds,
and mammals. There are actually more categories, since bony fish are
separate from jawless fish (lampreys and hagfish), cartilaginous fish
(sharks and rays), and lobe-fin fish (lungfish and coelacanths).
•Agnatha (Jawless Fish)
•Chondrichthyes (Cartilaginous Fish)
•Sarcopterygii (Lobe-Finned Fish)
•Osteichthyes (Bony Fish)
•Amphibia (Amphibians)
•Reptilia (Reptiles)
•Aves (Birds)
•Mammalia (Mammals)

8. Source:https://sciencenotes.org/5-groups-of-vertebrates-characteristics-and-examples/

9. Fish
• Fish are ectotherms (cold blooded).
• Their temperature depends on their environment.
• They have gills.
• Fish live in water get oxygen from gases dissolved in it.
• They have scales and fins.
• Some lay eggs, while others give birth to live young in the water.
• Examples: Cartilaginous fish, like a shark, and bony fish, like a tuna or
perch.

10. Amphibians
• Amphibians are cold-blooded.
• They spend part of their life in the water, breathing with gills, and
part of their life with lungs breathing air.
• Sometimes the adults still live in the water, while other species live
on land.
• Amphibians undergo a metamorphosis from their aquatic larval
form into the adult form with lungs.
• They have thin, moist skin that usually is smooth.
• They can breathe through their skin as well as their gills or lungs.
• Most amphibians lay jelly-like masses of eggs in water.
• Examples: Frogs, toads, newts, salamanders, and axolotls.

11. Reptiles
• Reptiles are cold-blooded.
• They have lungs and breathe air.
• Their young resemble small adults.
• There is no metamorphosis.
• Reptiles have dry, scaly or plated skin.
• Most reptiles lay leathery eggs, although some give birth to
live young.
• Examples: Turtles, lizards, alligators, and snakes.

12. Birds
• Birds are homeothermic or warm-blooded. Their metabolism
regulates body temperature so that it remains fairly constant.
• Birds have lungs and breathe air.
• While baby birds look a bit different from their parents, there is no
metamorphosis.
• Birds have wings, beaks, and feathers.
• They lay hard-shelled eggs.
Examples: Eagles, sparrows, ostriches, and chickens.

13. Mammals
• Mammals are warm-blooded.
• They have lungs.
• Mammals give birth to their young (with a few exceptions) and feed
their young milk.
• Mammals have hair or fur.
• Examples: Cats, dogs, squirrels, foxes, whales, and humans.

14. References
• Berg, L. R.; Solomon, E. P.; Martin, D. W. (2004). Biology. Cengage Learning.
ISBN 978-0-534-49276-2.
• Crispens, Charles G. (1978) Vertebrates: Their Forms and Functions. Charles C
Thomas Pub Ltd. ISBN: 978-0398037215.
• Dunn, C.W. (2008). “Broad phylogenetic sampling improves resolution of the
animal tree of life”. Nature. 452 (7188): 745–749. doi:10.1038/nature06614
• Liem, K. F.; Walker, W. F. (2001). Functional Anatomy of the Vertebrates: An
Evolutionary Perspective. Harcourt College Publishers. ISBN 978-0-03-022369-
3.
• Nielsen, C. (July 2012). “The authorship of higher chordate taxa”. Zoologica
Scripta. 41 (4): 435–436. doi:10.1111/j.1463-6409.2012.00536.x