Name ___________________________________________________________ Hour ___________
Vertebrates Reading and Questions
Directions: Answer the following questions using Chapters 16 and 17 in your textbook, starting on page
372.
1. A vertebrate is an animal with a __________________________________.
2. How are an endotherm and an ectotherm different?
Fishes
3. Which of the following statements is NOT true?
a. Fish can live almost anywhere except in cold arctic waters.
b. The first vertebrates appeared about 500 million years ago.
c. There are more species of fishes today than all other vertebrates combined.
d. More than 25,000 species of fishes exist.
4. How do gills help fish to breathe?
5. Most species of fish reproduce by external fertilization. What does this mean?
6. Name the three classes of fishes living today and an example of each.
7. How do bony fishes keep from sinking?
Amphibians
8. What does the word amphibian mean? Why does this name fit this group of animals?
9. Why do most amphibians live in water or damp habitats?
10. What are the stages of a frog’s metamorphosis?
11. What’s the difference between frogs and toads?
Reptiles
12. How do reptiles breathe?
13. Why do reptiles have thick, dry skin?
14. What is an amniotic egg? Why is it an important adaptation for reptiles?
15. How do reptiles reproduce?
16. Name 5 different reptiles.
Birds
17. What are the two main types of feathers that birds have?
18. How do birds reproduce?
19. Name the 4 nonscientific groups of birds and an example of each.
Mammals
20. What characteristics set mammals apart from other animals?
21. How do mammals reproduce?
22. How do mammals breathe?
23. How does having a large brain help mammals?
24. What is a monotreme? Give one example.
25. What is a marsupial? Give two examples.
26. What is a placental mammal? Give 5 examples.