Vertebrate facts for kids

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Vertebrates
Temporal range:
early Cambrian to Recent
Carp
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
(unranked) Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Cuvier, 1812
American Alligator
An alligator

A vertebrate is an animal with a spinal cord surrounded by cartilage or bone. The word comes from vertebrae, the bones that make up spines. Animals that are not vertebrates are called invertebrates. Vertebrates include birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals. The parts of the vertebrate skeleton are:

  1. Braincase: A braincase or cranium protects the brain.
  2. Vertebrae: A series of short, stiff vertebrae are separated by joints. This internal backbone protects the spinal cord. The joints between the vertebrae let the backbone bend.
  3. Bones: support and protect the body's soft tissues and provides points for muscle attachment.
  4. Gill arches: Gill arches in the pharynx of fish and some amphibians support the gills.

Examples of vertebrates are mammals, birds, and fish. A few tens of thousands of species have been identified. Most are fish. Sharks, and related skates and rays, are vertebrates with cartilage instead of bones.

Taxonomy and classification

Related pages

Images for kids

  • Naturkundemuseum Berlin - Dinosaurierhalle

    Fossilized skeleton of Diplodocus carnegii, showing an extreme example of the backbone that characterizes the vertebrates.

  • Gills (esox)

    Gill arches bearing gills in a pike

  • Haikouichthys cropped

    The early vertebrate Haikouichthys

  • Acanthostega BW

    Acanthostega, a fish-like early labyrinthodont.

  • Spindle diagram

    Traditional spindle diagram of the evolution of the vertebrates at class level

  • Astraspis desiderata

    50 px

  • Pharyngolepis2

    50 px

  • Acanthodes BW

    70 px

  • OnychodusDB15 flipped

    70 px

  • Reconstruction of Porolepis sp flipped

    70 px

  • Gooloogongia loomesi reconstruction

    70 px

  • Deutschlands Amphibien und Reptilien (Salamandra salamdra)

    70 px

  • Eudontomyzon danfordi Tiszai ingola

    140px

  • Carassius wild golden fish 2013 G1

    140px

  • Lithobates pipiens

    140px

  • Secretary bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) 2

    140px

  • Squirrel (PSF)

    140px


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Vertebrate Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.