CHORDATA

FISH

REPRODUCE

• Most fish have external fertilization
• The male hovers close to the female and spreads a cloud of sperm over the eggs as she releases them
• Sharks and guppies have internal fertilization
• The young fish develop inside her body
• When they are mature enough to live on their own she gives birth to them

MOVING

• Fish have fins
• A normal fin consists of a thin membrane stretched across bony supports
• Fins provide a large surface to push against the water
• With fins, fish move much faster through the water

EATING

• Carnivores- sharp and pointed teeth which are good for stabbing smaller fish
• Insect eating- short and blunt teeth with which they grip and crush their prey
• Filter feeders- comblike structures on their gills to filter tiny animals and plants from the water
• Highly developed nervous system and sense organs to help them find food and to avoid predators
• Keen senses of touch, smell, and taste also help fish capture food

AMPHIBIANS

REPRODUCE

• Most frogs and toads have external fertilization- a female frog releases the eggs that are then fertilized by the male’s sperm
• Most salamanders have internal fertilization- the eggs are fertilized before they are laid
• Amphibian eggs are coated with clear jelly that keeps moisture in and helps protect them from infection
• Most amphibian parents don’t take care of their eggs after fertilization
• Most amphibians undergo metamorphosis

MOVING(ON LAND)

• Most adult amphibians have strong skeletons and muscular limbs adapted for movement on land
• Amphibians were the first vertebrates to have legs
• The eyes of amphibians are adapted to life on land
• A transparent membrane helps keep them from drying out
• They can open and close their eyes(unlike fish and tadpoles)

LIFE CYCLE(FROG)

• Fertilized eggs
• Leg less tadpole
• Hind legs develop
• Front legs develop
• Adult frog

REPTILES

LIZARDS

• Skin covered with overlapping scales
• Shed their skin and then replace the old with a new coat
• Most live in warm areas
• Four legs with claws on their toes
• Long tails, slender bodies, movable eyelids, and external ears
• Few lizards are herbivores that eat leaves
• Most lizards are carnivores that capture food by jumping at it

SNAKES

• Able to live in almost every sort of habitat
• No legs, eyelids, or external ears
• Most snakes have only one lung
• Snakes slither
• Snakes are carnivores
• Jawbones can spread widely apart
• Bones of a snakes skull can move to let the snake swallow an animal much larger in diameter than itself

TURTLES

• Body is covered by a protective shell
• Shell is made from the turtle's ribs and backbone
• Bony plates of the shell are covered by large scales made from the same material as the skin's scales
• Some turtle shells can cover their whole body
• Leatherback turtles are carnivores
• Galapagos turtles are herbivores
• Turtles have sharp edged beaks instead of teeth

ALLIGATORS AND CROCODILES

• Alligators have broad, rounded snouts
• Crocodiles have pointed snouts
• Both spend much of their time resting in the sun or lying in the water
• Both are carnivores and hunt at night
• Use their strong, muscular tails to swim rapidly through the water
• Their jaws have many large, sharp, and pointed teeth
• Their jaw muscles are extremely strong when biting down
• Both care for their eggs and newly hatched young
• For as long as a year, the mother will stay near the nest

DINOSAURS

• Dinosaurs were the earliest vertebrates that had legs positioned directly beneath their bodies
• This adaptation allowed them to move more easily than animals whose legs stuck out to the sides
• Most herbivorous dinosaurs walked on 4 legs
• Most carnivorous dinosaurs ran on 2 legs
• Dinosaurs became extinct about 65 million years ago

BIRDS

REPRODUCE

• Internal fertilization
• Lay eggs
• The female lays the eggs in a nest that has been prepared by one or both parents
• Birds will only develop at the temperature close to the body temperature of the parent bird
• A parent bird usually incubates the eggs by sitting on top of them to keep them warm
• Birds differ in the length of time it takes for their chicks to develop until hatching
• When a bird is ready to hatch, a chick pecks its way out of the eggshell
• Most parent birds feed and protect their young at least until they are able to fly

MOVING

• Most birds fly(some not as well as others)
• Most birds swim(some not as often as others)

EATING

• Birds have no teeth
• To capture and handle food, birds primarily use their bills
• Each bird species has a bill shaped to help it feed quickly and efficiently
• Each organ in a birds digestive system is adapted to process food
• Many birds have an internal storage tank that allows them to store food inside their body
• Each day a bird eats about a quarter of its body weight

MAMMALS

MOVING

• No other group of vertebrates can move in as many different ways as mammals can
• Most mammals have four limbs and can walk and run
• Other four-limbed mammals have specialized ways of moving
• Kangaroos- hop
• Monkeys- swing by their arms from branch to branch
• Moles- powerful front limbs to burrow through the soil

REPRODUCE

• Mammals have internal fertilization
• All mammals feed their young with milk produced in mammary glands
• Many are born without insulating fur
• Their eyes are often sealed and may not open for weeks
• Young usually stay with their parents for an extended time

ADAPTATIONS

• Teeth- Four different shapes of teeth- incisors, canines, premolars, and molars.
• Brain- Enable them to learn, remember, and behave in complex ways.
• Most mammals hear well
• Smell- Most mammals have highly developed senses of smell. Many use scent to track their prey.
• Fur- Provides lightweight insulation that prevents body heat from escaping.

THE END