Vertebrate Zoology
Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Sub-phylum Vertebrata
Phylum Chordata
• Chordates have a nerve cord on the dorsal
side of their bodies.
Sub-Phylum Vertebrata
Bony covering over the spinal cord / nerve
cord.
Vertebra – singular
Vertebrae – plural
Fishes
• Ichthyology is the study of the fishes
• Characteristics
scales-not all have scales (ex. Catfish)
ectothermic (cold-blooded)
aquatic
sexual reproduction
external fertilization (in most cases)
lateral line
swim bladder
gills (except lung fishes)
• Key Sentence: Fishes have endoskeletons, gills, closed-loop
circulation, and kidneys.
Class Agnatha
• Jawless fishes
– Ex. Lamprey
– Ex. Hagfish
Class Chodrichthyes
• Cartilage skeletons (no bones)
– Sharks
– Skates
– Rays
Class Osteichthyes
• Bony Fishes
– Ray-finned fishes
• Most diversity
– Lung fishes
– Lobe-finned fishes
• Ex. Coelocanth
Class Amphibia
• Characteristics
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Ectothermic
Smooth, moist skin
No claws on toes if toes are present
Aquatic and terrestrial
Have to return to water to reproduce
Sexual reproduction
External fertilization
• Key Sentence: Most of these amphibians share
five key characteristics: legs, lungs, double-loop
circulation, a partially divided heart, and
cutaneous respiration.
Class Amphibia
Anura – no tail
ex. Toads & frogs
Urodela – visible tail
ex. Salamanders & newts
Apoda – no legs
ex. Caecilians
Trachystoma – rough mouthed
ex. Sirens, mudpuppy, hellbender
Class Reptilia
• Characteristics
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Ecotothermic
Aquatic & terrestrial
Sexual reproduction
Internal fertilization
Amniote egg
Have to return to land to reproduce
Dry, scaly skin (waterproof)
Claws on toes if toes are present
• Key Sentence: Modern reptiles have scales,
clawed toes, and an ectothermic metabolism,
and reptiles lack feathers or hair.
Class Reptilia
Order Rhynchocephalia
ex. tuatara
Order Chelonia
ex. Turtles (aquatic) & Tortoises (Terrestrial)
Order Crocodilia
ex. Crocodiles, Alligator, Gavial, Caimen
Order Squamata
ex. Lizards & Snakes
Venomous Snakes in Emanuel
County
Pit-Vipers (hemotoxin)
• Rattlesnakes
– Eastern Diamondback ***
– Timber or Cane-break
– Pygmy (Carolina, Dusky, & pygmy)
• Cottonmouth moccasin
• Copperhead
Elapid (neurotoxin)
Coral (red & yellow touch)
• Characteristics
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Aves
Endothermic (warm-blooded)
Feathers
Scales on legs
Claws on toes
Protect young
Beak or bill
Amniote egg
Oviparous
Sexual reproduciton
Internal fertilizatin
• Key Sentence: The key characteristics of
modern birds include feathers, wings, lightweight
skeleton, enodthermic metabolism, lungs with air
sacs, and a beak.
Orders of Aves
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Anseriformes- swans, geese, & ducks
Strigiformes- owls & nocturnal raptors
Apodiformes- hummingbirds
Psittaciformes- parrots, parakeets, budgerigars,
cockatoos, & cockatiels
• Piciformes- woodpeckers, honeyguides, &
toucans
• Falconiformes- raptors
• Passeriformes- 5700 species most of the
familiar North American birds
• Columbiformes- pigeons & doves
Orders of Aves Cont.
• Ciconiiformes- long-necked, long-legged
• Galliformes- turkeys, pheasants, chickens,
grouse, and quails (fowl)
• Sphenisciformes- flightless marine birds
(penguin)
• Struthioniformes- ostritch
Mammalia
• Characteristics
– Endothermic
– Hair / fur
– 4 types of teeth
– Mammary tissue
– Young nourished with milk
– Protect young
– Sexual reproduction
– Internal fertilization
• Key Sentence: Mammals are endothermic, they
have hair and specialized teeth, and females
produce milk in mammary glands, to nourish
their young.
Order Monotremata
Echidna- spiny ant-eater
Duck-billed platypus
Both are oviparous but nourish their young
with milk
Found only in Austrailia
Order Marsupalia
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Pouched mammals
Kangaroo
Koala
Wallaby
Wambat
Cuscus
Flying phylanger
Opossum
Orders of Placentals
Carry the young inside the uterus for full gestation (from
conception to birth)
• Rodentia- squirrels, marmots, chipmunks,
gophers, muskrats, mice, rats, &
porcupines
• Edentata-ant- eaters, armadillos, sloths
• Lagomorpha- rabbits, hares, pikas
• Insectivora- shrews, hedgehogs, moles
• Primates- prosimians (lemurs, tarsiers,
lorises) & anthropoids (apes, monkeys, &
humans)
Orders of Mammalia cont.
• Chiroptera- bats
• Carnivora- dogs, cats, raccoons, bears,
hyenas, & otters
• Pinnidedia- sea lions, seals, walruses (or
is it walri???)
• Artiodactyla- deer, elk, bison, moose,
cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and camels
• Perissodactyla- horses, zebra,
rhinoceroses, tapirs
Orders of Mammalia cont.
• Cetacea- whales, dolphins, porpoises
• Sirenia- manatees & dugongs
• Proboscidea- elephants (African & Indian)
Gestation
• Oviparous- lay eggs that are incubated
outside of the body ex. Aves
• Viviparous- hold young inside the body for
the entire gestation and give live birth ex.
Placental mammals
• Ovoviviparous- hold eggs inside female’s
body, eggs hatch, live birth ex. Pit-vipers