Vertebrates


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

Vertebrates

Animal Species:

Vertebrate: Vertebrates, animals with a backbone or spinal column, are made of interlocking units called vertebrae. This strong but flexible structure supports the body and anchors the limbs, and it also protects the nerves of the spinal cord. Vertebrates include fish, amphibians, and reptiles, as well as birds and mammals. In all vertebrates, the spinal column forms part of a complete internal skeleton. Unlike the hard external skeleton covering an insect, which is periodically shed as the insect grows, a vertebrate's internal skeleton can grow gradually along with the rest of the body.

There are several reasons why vertebrates are so successful and so noticeable. One has to do with their size. Invertebrates-that is, animals without backbones, such as worms, shellfish, and insects-tend to be small and slow moving. This is because they lack effective ways to support a large body and the muscles needed to power it. Vertebrates, on the other hand, have evolved a much more versatile support system. Their skeletons can be adapted for use in many different ways and work just as well in an animal weighing 4 tons as in one weighing 113 g (4 oz). As a result, vertebrates have been able to develop bigger, faster bodies than invertebrates.

Vertebrates also have highly developed nervous systems. With the help of specialised nerve fibres, they can react very quickly to changes in their surroundings, giving them a competitive edge.

Characteristics: In nearly all vertebrates, bone gives the skeleton its strength. Bone is a living tissue composed of hard mineral salts produced by specialised cells. A vertebrate's spinal column is held together by strong ligaments, but the faces of adjoining vertebrae are separated by elastic pads called intervertebral disks. Humans have 33 vertebrae, making us fairly flexible, and some snakes have more than 400, enabling them to shape their bodies into coils.

Besides the backbone, vertebrates share many other physical features. Their bodies are more or less bilaterally symmetrical (divisible into two equal halves), with sense organs concentrated in the head. Most vertebrates have jaws, and their brains are usually protected by a bony case called the cranium. Most also have limbs, but the shapes and uses of vertebrate limbs vary enormously. Fish typically have several paired fins and a large finned tail, but all other vertebrates either have four limbs or are descended from ancestors that had four.

Four limbed animals, known as tetra pods, use their limbs to swim walk, run, and fly. Nearly all vertebrates breed by sexual reproduction, either laying eggs or giving birth to live young. The few exceptions to this rule include animals such as North American whiptail lizards, which can breed  without mating in a process known as parthenogenesis. In several species of these lizards, males have never been found.

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