VERTEBRATES

Body parts and

Characteristics

A vertebrate is any creature that has a spinal column. A spinal column is the large bone structure that runs down your back. Vertebrates include: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes.

Vertebrates are mostly bilateral in symmetry. That means that one side of the body looks like the other side.

Some of the characteristics that mammals have in common are:

Skin, hair or fur, eyes, lungs, cells, muscles, and they feed their young with milk.

The characteristics of birds show that they have a spinal column, feathers, beaks, and eyes.

The reptile group consists of lizards, snakes, turtles, and crocodiles. Early reptiles included dinosaurs. This group has scales, horns, claws, eyes, and teeth in common.

Amphibians consist of frogs, toads, and salamanders. These are four-legged animals, but they remind us of fish. They have scales, lungs, four legs, and sometimes live near water.

Fishes are the last category of vertebrates. They have scales, gills, eyes, and fins.

Vertebrates

Vertebrates consist of creatures that have a spinal column.

Mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fishes are the categories of creatures that make up vertebrates.

They have many characteristics in common, such as, fur, scales, feathers, horns, claws, eyes, quills, beaks, teeth, skeleton, muscles, and cells.