Please enable JavaScript.
Coggle requires JavaScript to display documents.
What Is A Vertebrate? (Keeping Conditions Stable (The body temperature of…
What Is A Vertebrate?
Keeping Conditions Stable
The body temperature of most fish, amphibians, and reptiles is close to the temperature of the environment they're in
Birds and mammals have a stable body temperature that's most likely warmer than their environment
An ectotherm is an animal whose body doesn't produce much internal heat
Ectotherms are called cold blooded because their blood is normally warm
Endotherms control the heat their body produces
Endotherms body temperature doesn't usually change
To help maintain body temperature, endotherms have adapted to sweat and grow fur/hair/feathers
Characteristics of Chordates
Jawless fish are a subgroup of the phylum Chordata called Chordates
Chordates have a notochord, which is a nerve cord that runs down their back and slits in their throat
Some Chordates have notochords all their lives
As opposed to vertebrates who have backbones
The notochord connects the brain to nerves
Some other animals also have nerve chords but they aren't in the back
Characteristics of Vertebrates
Vertebrates have backbones that is a part of an internal skeleton
The backbone is made with many similar bones called vertebrae
Backbones are connected by joints to give it flexibility
The backbone is part of the endoskeleton
The endoskeleton helps protect organs, gives the body shape, and protects the brain
Endoskeletons don't need to be replaced unlike an arthropod's exoskeleton
Intro
The earliest vertebrate was a fish 530 million years ago
The earliest vertebrates were fish