Vertebrates By: Asina and Eileen

About Vertebrates Vertebrates are animals that have backbones such as mammals, fish, amphibians, birds,  primates, rodents and marsupials. Although vertebrates represent only a very small percentage of all animals, their size and mobility often allow them to rule their surroundings.

Difference Although all the vertebrates are in the same kingdom they are different from most kingdoms for example: It is different from Kingdom Monera and Protista because Monera and Protista are unicellular and vertebrates are not. Also they are different from fungi because mostly grow on ground and vertebrates can move. They are different from plants because they don’t have chlorophyll.

Mammals Mammals have several unique characteristics that make them different from other animals. Most mammals have hair, or fur, covering their body. The majority of mammals have seven cervical system (bone in the neck) bats, giraffes, whales and humans.

Reproduce Most mammals give birth to live young. But, not all such as the platypus and echidna. They are different because they are only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. Because Vertebrates are multicellular they need a mate to reproduce.

Platypus Here is a video

Echidna

Fish There are a wide variety of fish from the goby which is less than one half an inch long, to the whale shark which can be over 60 feet long. Fishes are vertebrates that have a skeleton made of either bone or cartilage. About 95% of fishes have skeletons made of bone.

How They Reproduce There are many ways according to the species but here are the most common ways In most cases, the female drops eggs in the water, which are immediately fertilized by sperm from the male. Another way is for fertilization to occur within the female's body before she drops the eggs into the water. The third and final method happens when the female retains the fertilized eggs within her body and the young are born alive.

Pictures

Amphibians The class Amphibians includes frogs, toads, salamanders, newts and caecilians. Amphibians are characterized by a cold skin without outer scales, by gills during growth.  Most amphibians can both walk and swim in water.

How they Reproduce Amphibians lay their eggs in water, and young amphibians tend to be similar to small fish. The tadpole, or newborn frog, is born and lives in water. It has a tail that allows it to swim like a fish.

Picture

Birds There are over 8,000 species of birds. Birds have 3 major differentiating characteristics: wings for flight, feathers, and a beak rather than teeth. Birds have change their vertebrate skeleton for flight. Their bones and skull are very thin, making their bodies extremely light.

How They Reproduce The obvious bit is that birds lay eggs, and the eggs develop outside of their body. A male birds does need to fertilise the egg while it is still inside the female. Once the eggs are fertilized and have grown some, they will either lay the eggs or give birth to a live baby.

Pictures

Primates Humans are apart of the primate family. Other common primates include the monkey, baboon, orangutan, chimpanzee and gorilla. While humans inhabit much of the world, most other primates live in tropical or subtropical regions of the Americas, Africa and Asia.

How They Reproduce Primates reproduce sexually by internal fertilization. Like most mammals, monkeys give birth to live monkeys. The mother typically takes care of her child until he or she is a teenager. They tend to have a long pregnancy period in their mother's womb.

Pictures

Rodents The largest family of mammals are the rodents. There are 3 major types of rodents, represented by squirrels, mice and porcupines. Squirrel family include the squirrel and gopher. Mouse-like rodents include the mouse, rat and hamster. Porcupines are not in the other classification because they are not fast like the squirrels and don’t have short tails like the mice.

How they Reproduce Many rodents have large numbers of offspring, which is one of the primary reasons they make up the largest group of mammals. Rodent reproduction can be divided into two forms. One group of families has a short pregnancy period, produces multiple litters per year, and has large numbers of helpless offspring.

Rodents Picture

Marsupial Marsupials are best known for the Australian members of the family, the kangaroo, wallaby and the koala. Marsupials are members of the mammal family. However, they are different from other mammals because they have an abdominal pouch to carry their young.

How They Reproduce At birth, marsupial babies are not fully grown.   The baby lives and continues to grow in the mother's pouch. A baby kangaroo may live in its mother's pouch for 6 months.

Koalas and Wombats Koalas and wombats are a little different from kangaroos. While a kangaroo pouch opens at the top, the opening of the koala and wombat pouch is lower and more downward facing toward the back legs.

Videos http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qBgMmRMpOo&feature=player_embedded Marsupials http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mO0u9oI1XzQ&feature=player_embedded Wombat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhpVgUCHDIE&feature=player_embedded Ostrich http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMCf7SNUb-Q&feature=player_embedded Dolphins

Bibliography http://ca-seafood.ucdavis.edu/educate/c09howdo.htm www.kidport.com/reflib/science/animals/animalindexv.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vertebrate

The End Thank You for Listening We Hope you learned a lot from this presentation