Class: Agantha (Jawless Fish)

Fish

Classification

·  Kingdom: Animalia

o  Phylum: Chordata

§  Class: Agantha (jawless fish)

§  Class: Osteichthyes (fish with cartilage skeleton, like sharks and rays)

§  Class: Chondrichtyes (fish with bone skeletons)

Characteristics

·  Fish areectothermic, aquaticvertebrates

·  Their skin is generally covered withscales

·  Their limbs are modified intofinsfor swimming

·  They breathe withgills

·  They layeggsthat must bein water

·  Fertilization of eggs is outside of the body

·  You probably knew most of this already, didn't you? The term"ectothermic"may be newto you. It means "external temperature" in Latin. The simpler term is "cold-blooded", that is, it has a body temperature equal to the surrounding environment. You know that fish are cold-blooded if you ever picked one up: they are as cold as the water they were swimming in. Even if you go swimming and are shivering with cold, you are always warmer than the water. "Aquatic" means that they spend their lives in the water.

Number of Species

·  Approximately 30,000 species

Examples

·  Sharks
·  Manta Rays
·  Sting Rays
·  Skates
·  Eels
·  Salmon / ·  Bony Fish, like tuna, sardines, trout, mackerel
·  Sea Horses
·  Sea Dragons
·  Halibut
·  Flounder
·  Clown Fish

http://www.davidlnelson.md/Cazadero/FiveVertebrates.htm

Amphibians

Classification

·  Kingdom: Animalia

o  Phylum: Chordata

§  Class: Amphibia

Characteristics

·  Amphibians areectothermicvertebrates

·  Theirskinlacks scales, hair, and feathers, and is either smooth (like a frog) or rough (like a toad)

·  They are dependent upon moisture and subject to drying out; their skinmust remain moist to aid in breathing through their skin

·  Theylay eggs in water, which hatch into an intermediate life form (tadpoleor larva) that usually breathes with gills, and change into theadult form that breathes air and can live outside water.

·  They don't claws on their toes.

·  The name "amphibian" comes from the Latin for "two lives", which refers to the fact that all amphibians have a larval stage (we call the larval stage of frogs and toads a "tadpole" or "pollywog") and an adult stage. This is unique in the vertebrate world, because fish, reptiles, birds, and mammals are all born as small versions of the adult, not a completely different form. This dual life, one aquatic with gills and one terrestrial with lungs, may be representative of the evolution of animals out of water and onto dry land.

Number of Species

·  Approximately 7,000

Examples

·  Salamanders

·  Frogs

·  Toads

·  Hellbender (giant salamander)

·  Newts

http://www.davidlnelson.md/Cazadero/FiveVertebrates.htm

Reptiles

Classification

·  Kingdom: Animalia

o  Phylum: Chordata

§  Class: Reptilia

Characteristics

·  Reptiles areectothermicvertebrates

·  Their skin hasscales, but no hair or feathers.

·  The breath with lungs

·  They have claws on their toes (except those which do not have legs, such as legless lizards)

·  They are the first animals, in evolution, to develop an egg with a protective membrane to prevent drying out. This allows reptiles tolay eggson land. Some species give live birth

·  What do all these reptiles have in common? They all are cold-blooded (the reason lizards and snakes sun themselves is to warm up, just like you on a cold morning, or after a swim in the ocean and they have scales. Did you ever see a lizard with feathers, or a hairy snake? No! Scales make up their only covering. Reptiles also lay eggs on dry land

Number of Species

·  Approximately 10,000 Species

Example Species

·  Lizards

·  Crocodiles

·  Alligators

·  Sea Turtles

·  Freshwater Turtles

·  Snakes

·  Legless Lizards

·  Tortoises

·  Komodo Dragon

http://www.davidlnelson.md/Cazadero/FiveVertebrates.htm

Birds

Classification

·  Kingdom: Animalia

o  Phylum: Chordata

§  Class: Aves

Characteristics

·  Birds areendothermicvertebrates

·  Their skin is covered withfeathers.

·  They have four-chambered hearts.

·  Their bones are lightweight and usually hollow.

·  Their forelimbs are modified aswings

·  They layeggs on land

·  They breath with lungs

·  You already knew all the facts that are inbold, didn't you? Everyone knows birds have wings with feathers and lay eggs. You may not have known they are endothermic, which is Latin for "inside temperature". This means that they can maintain their own warm inside temperature, even when it is cold outside. Frogs (amphibians) and snakes (reptiles) have to hide when the weather is cold, but birds can be out and active.

Number of Species

·  Approximately 10,000 species

Examples

·  Hawks
·  Eagles
·  Vulture
·  Penguins
·  Ostriches
·  Emu / ·  Kiwi
·  Birds of Paradise
·  Ducks
·  Geese
·  Hummingbirds
·  Owls (my favorite)

http://www.davidlnelson.md/Cazadero/FiveVertebrates.htm

Mammals

Classification

·  Kingdom: Animalia

o  Phylum: Chordata

§  Class: Mammalia

Characteristics

·  Mammals areendothermicvertebrates

·  They havehair, which varies greatly among species

·  Most have sweat glands

·  They havemammary (milk-secreting) glands

·  They have sebaceous (fat-secreting) glands

·  They have specialized teeth dentition (different types of teeth)

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5b/Evolution_pl.png

Number of Species

·  Approximately 5,500

Examples

·  Humans
·  Whales
·  Dolphins
·  Seals
·  Sea Lions
·  Manatees
·  Cats
·  Bears
·  Dogs
·  Monkeys
·  Apes (gorillas and chimpanzees, and us)
·  Duck-billed platypus?
·  Anteater
·  Sloths / ·  Bats
·  Squirrels
·  Rodents
·  Beavers
·  Narwhals
·  Orcas
·  Deer
·  Elephants
·  Rhinoceros
·  Zebra
·  Kangaroos
·  Opossums
·  Pangolin
·  Porcupines

http://www.davidlnelson.md/Cazadero/FiveVertebrates.htm