Name
Date
Class
Vertebrate Diversity
On a separate sheet of paper, compare the major groups of vertebrates: fish, amphibians,
reptiles, birds, and mammals. Explain what characteristics they share as well as the
differences between them.
163C
Name
Date
Class
Vertebrate Diversity
Understanding Main Ideas
Answer the following questions on a separate sheet of paper.
1. List the three types of fishes. ______________________________________________________
2. Why are amphibians named with a word that means “double life”? Amphibians spend__________
_____________________________________________________________________________
3. Describe two adaptations that help reptiles to live on land. _______________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
4. What are three traits common to all birds? All birds____________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
5. How are monotremes different from other types of mammals? Monotremes are the only mammals
that____________________________________________________________________________
Building Vocabulary
Match each term with its definition by writing the letter of the correct definition in the
right column on the line beside the term in the left column.
6.
fish
a. an organ that produces milk
7.
amphibian
b. an ectothermic vertebrate that has thick skin and
kidneys, and lays eggs
8.
reptile
c. an ectothermic vertebrate that lives in water and uses
fins to move
9.
bird
d. an organ through which materials pass from a
mother mammal to her developing embryo
10.
mammal
e. an endothermic vertebrate that has a fourchambered heart and feathers, and lays eggs
11.
mammary gland
f. a mammal that develops completely in its mother’s
body
12.
placental mammal
g. an ectothermic vertebrate that lives its early life in
water and adult life on land
13.
placenta
h. an endothermic vertebrate that has skin covered by
hair or fur, and a four-chambered heart
14.
marsupial
i. a mammal that completes its development in a pouch
on the mother’s body
15.
cartilage
j. a skeletal tissue more flexible than bone
163D