subphylum of chordates From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A vertebrate is an animal with a spinal cord surrounded by cartilage or bone. The word comes from vertebrae, the bones that make up the spine. Animals that are not vertebrates are called invertebrates. Vertebrates include birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. The parts of the vertebrate skeleton are:
Vertebrate | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Example of vertebrates: Acipenser oxyrinchus (Actinopterygii), an African bush elephant (Tetrapoda), a Tiger shark (Chondrichthyes) and a River lamprey (Agnatha). | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Superphylum: | Deuterostomia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Olfactores |
Subphylum: | Vertebrata J-B. Lamarck, 1801[2] |
Infraphylums | |
Synonyms | |
Ossea Batsch, 1788[2] |
Examples of vertebrates are mammals, birds, and fish. A few tens of thousands of species have been identified. The term "fish" is used to describe at least four different kinds of vertebrates.
Vertebrates dominate amongst the animals in virtually all environments. They include the largest animals in each main ecosystem, though not the largest living things (because that would include trees). They are the only animals which have an adaptive immune system.[3] These two facts may be connected.
Seamless Wikipedia browsing. On steroids.
Every time you click a link to Wikipedia, Wiktionary or Wikiquote in your browser's search results, it will show the modern Wikiwand interface.
Wikiwand extension is a five stars, simple, with minimum permission required to keep your browsing private, safe and transparent.