VERTEBRATES

Vertebrates are animals that have a back bone or spinal column. Animals that belong to the
vertebrates group have a chain of bony elements from the head to the tail of the body. The vertebral that is
present in the animals helps them in the locomotion.
All the animals that belongs to vertebrates also belongs to the phylum chordata which has a
subphylum called vertebrata. Vertebrates represent only a small percentage in the total animals worlds.
Though there are small in number their size and mobility.

Characteristics of Vertebrates
 Vertebrates are highly cephalized and have well developed organs. They have endoskeleton and a
closed circulatory system. And they have the ability to regulate their body temperature.
 Of the five class of vertebrates birds and mammals are endothermic in nature and the others like
fish, amphibians, and reptiles are ectothermic in nature.
 They have bony endoskeleton which consists of cranium, limb girdles, visceral arches and two
pairs of appendages.
 Muscles attached to the endoskeleton helps in locomotion and they have ventral hearts with 2 to 4
chambers.
 Have a large digestive system with liver, digestive glands and pancreas. Also have well developed
body cavity.
 The bloods of the vertebrates contains red blood and white blood corpuscles. They have paired
kidneys.
 The general body plan of the vertebrates consists of head, trunk, appendages and post anal tail.

Classification of Vertebrates
Vertebrates are classified into the following five classes:
 Fish
 Amphibians
 Reptiles
 Birds
 Mammals
 Marsupials
 Monotremes
 Placentals

FISH
Fish are vertebrates (vertebrates have backbones) that live in water. They breathe using special
organs called gills.
Most fish are ectothermic ("cold-blooded"), allowing their body temperatures to vary as ambient
temperatures change, though some of the large active swimmers like white shark and tuna can hold a
higher core temperature.
The term "fish" most precisely describes any non-tetrapod craniate (i.e. an animal with a skull and
in most cases a backbone) that has gills throughout life and whose limbs, if any, are in the shape of fins.
Unlike groupings such as birds or mammals, fish are not a single clade but a paraphyletic collection of taxa
Groups:
 Agnatha (Jawless fish)
 The oldest fossil agnathans appeared in the Cambrian, and two groups still survive today:
the lampreys and the hagfish, comprising about 120 species in total.
 Agnathan metabolism is slow in cold water, and therefore they do not have to eat very
much. Lampreys feed on other fish and mammals. They rely on a row of sharp teeth to
shred their host.
 Chondrichthyes (Cartilaginous fish)
 jawed vertebrates with paired fins, paired nares, scales, a heart with its chambers in
series, and skeletons made of cartilage rather than bone. The class is divided into two
subclasses: Elasmobranchii (sharks, rays, skates, and sawfish) and Holocephali
(chimaeras, sometimes called ghost sharks, which are sometimes separated into their own
class).
 Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fish)
 their fins being webs of skin supported by bony or horny spines ("rays"), as
opposed to the fleshy, lobed fins that characterize the class Sarcopterygii which
also, however, possess lepidotrichia. These actinopterygian fin rays attach
directly to the proximal or basal skeletal elements, the radials, which represent
the link or connection between these fins and the internal skeleton.
 Sharks
 a group of fish characterized by a cartilaginous skeleton, five to seven gill slits
on the sides of the head, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head.
Modern sharks are classified within the clade Selachimorpha (or Selachii) and
are the sister group to the rays. Sharks were known to mariners as "sea dogs".
 Shark skeletons are very different from those of bony fish and terrestrial
vertebrates. Sharks and other cartilaginous fish (skates and rays) have
skeletons made of cartilage and connective tissue. Cartilage is flexible and
durable, yet is about half the normal density of bone. This reduces the skeleton's
weight, saving energy. Because sharks do not have rib cages, they can easily
be crushed under their own weight on land.
 Osteichthyes (Bony Fish)
 fish that have skeletons primarily composed of bone tissue, as opposed to cartilage. It is
the largest class of vertebrates in existence today. The group Osteichthyes is divided into
the ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii) and lobe-finned fish (Sarcopterygii).
AMPHIBIANS
 From the Greek Word AMPHIBIOS. “Amphi” means both and “bios” means life.
 a cold-blooded vertebrate animal of a class that comprises the frogs, toads, newts, and
salamanders

Characteristics of Amphibians
 Skeleton mostly bony, ribs present in some, absent in most living forms.
 Body forms vary greatly from elongated trunk with distinct head, neck and tail to a compact,
depressed body with fused head and trunk and no intervening neck.
 Usually four limbs (TETRAPOD) ; webbed feet often present.
 Smooth and moist skin with many glands; some of which maybe poison glands, pigment cells
(chromatophores) common; no scales, except concealed dermal ones in some.
  Mouth usually large with small teeth in upper or both jaws; two nostrils open into anterior part of
mouth cavity.
 Respiration by lungs ( absent in some salamanders), skin and gills in some, either separately or in
combination.
 Circulation with three-chambered heart, two atria and one ventricle, and double circulation
(systemic and pulmonary) through the heart.
 Eggs with jellylike membrane coverings.

Classification of Amphibians
 Order Gymnophiona
 Caecilians completely lack limbs, making the smaller species resemble worms, while the
larger species, with lengths up to 1.5 m (4 ft 11 in), resemble snakes. Their tails are short
or absent, and their cloacae are near the ends of their bodies.
 Order Cuadata
 The salamanders and newts are the least specialized and most aquatic of all amphibians.
 Order Anura
 Largest and most successful group of amphibians and closest to the stock from which the
higher quadrupeds descended.
Reproduction
Amphibians are typically aquatic as larvae and terrestrial as adults. They depend highly on water,
especially freshwater. No amphibians inhabit salt water (oceans and seas). Amphibian eggs generally lack
shells and all are produced in water. As the eggs develop into larvae, they survive for long periods of time
in the water before undergoing the complex transformation of metamorphosis. Many changes happen to
their body form that will eventually equip them for life as adults in terrestrial habitats. Larval gills are lost
and replaced by air-breathing lungs and in the case of frogs and toads, their tails (which they have as
tadpoles) are reabsorbed and they develop limbs.

REPTILES
 a vertebrate animal of a class that includes snakes, lizards, crocodiles, turtles, and tortoises. They
are distinguished by having a dry scaly skin and typically laying soft-shelled eggs on land.
Characteristics of Reptiles
 Body varied in shape, compact in some, elongated in others; body covered with exoskeleton of
horny epidermal scales with addition sometimes of bony dermal plates; integument with few
glands.
 Paired limbs, usually with five toes, adapted for climbing, running or paddling; absent in snakes
and lizards.
 Skull with one occipital condyle
 Respiration by lungs; no gills; cloaca secondarily used for respiration by some.
 Three chambered heart; Crocodiles with four chambered heart; usually one pair of aortic arches.
 Metanephric (paired) kidney; uric acid as main nitrogenous waste.

Classification of Reptiles
 Crocodilia
 crocodiles, gharials, caimans and alligators: 23 species
 are the largest living reptiles.

  Sphenodontia
 tuataras from New Zealand: 2 species
 represented by a single living species.
 A specialized feature is the teeth.
 Sphenodon represents one of the lowest rates of evolution known among the vertebrates
 Squamata
 lizards, snakes and amphisbaenids ("worm-lizards"): about 7,900 species
 Are the most recent produxts of reptile evolution and by all odds and most successful,
comprising approximately 95% off all known as reptiles.
 Testudines
 turtles and tortoises: approximately 300 species

BIRDS
 A warm-blooded animal that have feathers and that are born out of hard-shelled eggs.

Characteristics of Birds
 Birds are endothermic and, because they fly, they require large amounts of energy, necessitating a
high metabolic rate.
 Birds have down feathers that provide insulation and two types of flight feathers found on the
wings: thrust-producing primary feathers at the tip of the wing and lift-providing secondary feathers
closer to the body.
 Contour feathers found on the body create a smooth, aerodynamic surface.
 The chest muscles of birds are highly developed as they are responsible for the flapping of the
entire wing.
 The two clavicles of birds are fused, forming the furcula or wishbone, which is both flexible and
strong enough to support to the shoulder girdle during flapping.
 In order to keep body weight low, birds have pneumatic bones, no urinary bladders, and usually
only one ovary.
 Birds have developed an efficient respiratory system using air sacs and unidirectional airflow and a
cross-current exchange system with the blood.

Classifications of Birds
 Neognaths (Neognathae)
 include virtually all living birds. Except paleognaths
 Strigiformes: Owls
 Psittaciformes: Parrots
 Passeriformes: Song birds & Kin
 Gruiformes: Cranes & Rails
 Aequomithes: Loons,Penguins,Herons,Pelican,Storks,etc.
 Palaeognathae (paleognaths)- contains the tinamous and the flightless ratites.
 Struthioniformes: Ostriches
 Dinomithiformes: Moas
 Casuariiformes: Emus & Cassowaries
MAMMALS
It came from the scientific name Mammalia coined by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, derived from the Latin
mamma (“teat, pap”). In an influential 1988 paper, Timothy Rowe defined Mammalia phylogenetically as the
crown group of mammals, the clade consisting of the most recent common ancestor of living monotremes
(echidnas and platypuses) and therian mammals (marsupials and placentals) and all descendants of that
ancestor. Mammals range in size from the 30–40 mm (1.2–1.6 in) bumblebee bat to the 30-meter
(98 ft) blue whale.
According to Mammal Species of the World, 5,416 species were identified in 2006. These were
grouped into 1,229 genera, 153 families and 29 orders.

Characteristics of Mammals
 The various traits which are used to define mammals include: the presence of hair;
the integument system which contains specialized secretory glands; the skeletal and muscular
systems; the heart and brain structure.
 Mammals contain specialized glands which have various functions: secretion of chemical
compounds used for communication; glands that produce milk; glands that produce perspiration
used for thermoregulation; and glands that produce sebum, which is used for lubrication
 Mammals have four-chambered hearts that are defined by the ability to regulate the heart beat with
the presence of specialized pacemaker cells.
 A mammal's hair has many purposes, including insulation, sensory perception, protective
coloration, and social signaling.
 Mammals possess many unique skeletal structures including a single lower jaw bone that joins the
skull at the squamosal bone and three bones in the inner ear.

Classification of Mammals:
 Marsupials
 a distinctive characteristic common to these species is that most of the young are carried
in a pouch. Well-known marsupials include kangaroos, koalas, wallabies, possums,
opossums, wombats, Tasmanian devils, and the recently extinct thylacines.
 Monotremes
 are basal mammals that lay eggs (Prototheria) instead of giving birth to live young
like marsupials (Metatheria) and placental mammals (Eutheria).
 Placentals
 Placental mammal (infraclass Eutheria), any member of the mammalian group
characterized by the presence of a placenta, which facilitates exchange of nutrients and
wastes between the blood of the mother and that of the fetus. The placentals include all
living mammals except marsupials and monotremes.

MARSUPIALS
Unlike placental mammals (Placentalia), almost all marsupials lack the placenta that connects the
mother with the developing fetus in the womb. Some marsupials have a rudimentary placenta that functions
for only a short time, such as the bandicoot.
Marsupials differ from placental mammals in their reproductive traits. The female has two vaginas
(the tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body). Both of the vaginas open
externally through one orifice, but lead to different compartments within the uterus. Males usually have a
two-pronged penis, which corresponds to the females' two vaginas. The penis only passes sperm.
Marsupials have a cloaca (posterior opening that serves as the only such opening for the intestinal and
urinary tracts) that is connected to a urogenital sac in both sexes. Waste is stored there before expulsion.
The early birth of marsupials removes the developing young much sooner than in placental
mammals, and marsupials have not needed to develop a complex placenta to protect the young from its
mother's immune system.

 Kangaroo
 a marsupial from the family Macropodidae (macropods, meaning "large foot"). In common
use the term is used to describe the largest species from this family, especially those of
the genus Macropus: the red kangaroo, antilopine kangaroo, eastern grey kangaroo,
and western grey kangaroo.
 use hopping as a means of locomotion
 have chambered stomachs similar to those of cattle and sheep. They regurgitate the
vegetation they have eaten, chew it as cud, and then swallow it again for final digestion

MONOTREMES
Monotremes are basal mammals that lay eggs (Prototheria). The only 3 surviving examples of
monotremes are all indigenous to Australia and New Guinea, although there is evidence that they were
once more widespread. The existing monotreme species are the platypus and two species of echidnas.
Monotremes are warm-blooded with a high metabolic rate Their body temperature is lower and fluctuates
more than other mamals; produce milk through mammary glands to feed their young; have a single bone in
their lower jaw; and have three middle-ear bones; has limbs modified for swimming or digging.

 Ornithorhynchus anatinus (duck-Billed Platypus)

 “PLATY” Broad “POUS” Foot
 looks like a duck's bill, but is actually quite soft and covered with thousands of receptors
that help the platypus detect prey. Male platypus is also venomous. They have sharp
stingers on the heels of their rear feet and can use them to deliver a strong toxic blow to
any foe
 Echidna (Spiny Anteater) or Tachyglossus aculeatus
 Echidnas are medium-sized, solitary mammals covered with coarse hair and spines
 Nocturnal
 Females lay only lay one egg

PLACENTAL MAMMALS are primarily distinguished from other mammals in that the fetus is carried in
the uterus of its mother where it is nourished via a placenta, until the live birth of a fully developed
offspring occurs. The placental mammals include such diverse forms as whales, elephants, shrews, and
armadillos. They are also some of the most familiar organisms to us, including pets such as dogs and
cats, as well as many farm and work animals, such as sheep, cattle, and horses.

Characteristics:
Some common characteristics unique to placental mammals are:
 The young are nourished in a placenta before birth.
 There are no epipubic bones.
 Different openings are used for urination and defecation.
 There is a malleolus (bony extension) at the bottom of the tibia.

Classification
The class Mammalia (mammals) is divided into two subclasses based
on reproductive techniques: Monotremes, which lay eggs, and therians, mammals which give live birth,
which has two infraclasses: Marsupials, pouched mammals and placental mammals.

Reproductive
 Male
The mammalian male reproductive system contains two main divisions, the penis and the testicles, the
latter of which is where sperm are produced. Having the testicles outside the abdomen best facilitates
temperature regulation of the sperm, which require specific temperatures to survive.
 Female
The mammalian female reproductive system likewise contains two main divisions: the vagina and uterus,
which act as the receptacle for the sperm, and the ovaries, which produce the female's ova. All of these
parts are always internal.

Circulatory
 4 chambered heart
 Right side of the body pumps venous blood to the lungs for oxygenation
 Left side pumps the oxygenated blood from the lungs, and then pumps through the body.

Digestive
 Carnivores: tear off chunk of meat that travel down their esophagus into their stomach. Acid
stomach acid begans to break down the food. It goes through the small intestines where parts are
into the bloodstream. The rest that is left over is put into the large intestine and then excreted.
 Herbivores: they have to chew their food more to break down the fibers in the plants.

PINNIPEDS commonly known as seals, are a widely distributed and diverse clade of carnivorous, fin-
footed, semi-aquatic marine mammals. They comprise the extant families:

 Odobenidae - the only living member is the walrus.

 Otariidae - the eared seals: sea lions and fur seals.
 Phocidae - the earless seals, or true seals.

Locomotion. Pinnipeds have two pairs of flippers on the front and back, the fore-flippers and hind-
flippers. The elbows and ankles are enclosed within the body. Pinnipeds tend to be slower swimmers
than cetaceans, typically cruising at 5–15 kn (9–28 km/h; 6–17 mph) compared to around 20 kn (37 km/h;
23 mph) for several species of dolphin.

Senses. The eyes of pinnipeds are relatively large for their size and are positioned near the front of the
head. One exception is the walrus, whose smaller eyes are located on the sides of its head. This is
because it feeds on immobile bottom dwelling mollusks and hence does not need acute vision. A seal's
eye is adapted for seeing both underwater and in air.

Diving adaptations. Before diving, pinnipeds typically exhale to empty their lungs of half the air and then
close their nostrils and throat cartilages to protect the trachea. Their unique lungs have airways that are
highly reinforced with cartilaginous rings and smooth muscle, and alveoli that completely deflate during
deeper dives.

Thermoregulation. Pinnipeds conserve heat with their large and

compact body size, insulating blubber and fur, and high metabolism. In addition, the blood vessels in their
flippers are adapted for countercurrent exchange.

Sleep. Pinnipeds spend many months at a time at sea, so they must sleep in the water. Scientists have
recorded them sleeping for minutes at a time while slowly drifting downward in a belly-up orientation. Like
other marine mammals, seals sleep in water with half of their brain awake so that they can detect and
escape from predators. When they are asleep on land, both sides of their brain go into sleep mode.
PHILIPPINE TARSIER

 Smallest primates.
 Unspecialized teeth
 Grasping digits with free-moving limbs
 Finger and toenails
 A complex brain has enabled anthropoids to develop behaviors and to live in highly organized
social groups.

Reproduction

The Philippine tarsier's pregnancy or gestation period lasts about 6 months. The female's estrous
cycle lasts 25–28 days. Mating season begins in April to May. The males deposit a mating plug in the
female's vagina after intercourse. The female gives birth to one offspring per gestation. The infant is born
with hair and with its eyes open. The females carry their infants in their mouths. A newborn can already
cling to branches and in less than a month after birth, it can start leaping. Newborns are breast-fed until
60 days after birth. After two years of age, the tarsier is able to take a mate.

Habitat
 Tropical rainforest with dense vegetation and trees that offer it protection such as tall grasses,
bushes, and bamboo shoots.
Feeding
 Primarily insectivorous, its diet consists of insects, spiders, small crustaceans, and small
vertebrates such as small lizards and birds