Vertebrates Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes about vertebrates.

Phylum Chordata

A major group of bilaterians in the deuterostome clade, including vertebrates, cephalochordates, and urochordates.

Synapomorphic Characters

Present during at least part of the life of every chordate.

Vertebrates

Articulated spine or vertebral column providing strong support for a larger, more mobile organism.

Cranium

A part of the overall bony structure enclosing the brain.

Fish

Aquatic vertebrates with scales, paired fins, unpaired fins, and gills.

Scales

Protective layer of imbricated structures covering most fish.

Cycloid and Ctenoid Scales

Thin leptoid scales found in most teleost fish.

Cycloid scale

Found in teleosts with soft fin rays, such as salmon, trout and carp

Ctenoid (toothed) scale

Found in teleosts with spiny fin rays, such as perciformes (perch, sunfish)

Gill Arches

Structures that support gill filaments.

Gill Filaments

Highly branched structures for gas exchange in fish gills.

Tetrapods

Vertebrates that transitioned onto land.

Amphibian

Anamniote vertebrate, such as the northern leopard frog.

Glottis

Opening to the trachea.

Diaphragm

A sheet of skeletal muscle that separates the thoracic cavity from the abdominopelvic cavity in rats.