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Vocabulary flashcards related to animal diversity, specifically vertebrates.
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Chordates
Organisms with a notochord, a nerve cord, and slits in their throat area at some point in their lives.
Vertebrate
Animal with a backbone that is part of an endoskeleton, which supports the body, protects organs, and gives muscles a place to attach.
Ectotherm
Animal whose body does NOT produce much internal heat (e.g., fishes, amphibians, and reptiles).
Endotherm
Animal whose body regulates its own temperature by controlling the internal heat.
Fish
Ectotherms that live in water, have fins, and obtain oxygen through gills; many have scales.
Jawless Fish
Fish that have no jaws or scales with skeletons made of cartilage (e.g., lamprey & hagfish).
Cartilaginous Fish
Fish having jaws and scales as well as skeletons made of cartilage (e.g., sharks, rays).
Swim bladder
Organ in bony fish that is a gas-filled sac that helps them stay stable at different depths.
Amphibians
Ectothermic vertebrate that spends early life in water and adulthood on land (e.g., salamanders, frogs, and toads).
Metamorphosis
Process most amphibians undergo where legs and lungs develop for adult life.
Reptiles
Ectothermic vertebrate that has lungs and scaly skin adapted to conserve water.
Amniotic Eggs
Eggs with a shell and internal membranes that keep the embryo moist, characteristic of reptiles.
Lizards and Snakes
Reptiles that have skin covered with overlapping scales; lizards have four legs, snakes have none.
Alligators and Crocodiles
Large, carnivorous reptiles that care for their young.
Turtles
Reptile whose body is covered by a protective shell that includes the ribs & backbone.
Birds
Endothermic vertebrate that has feathers and a four-chambered heart; also lays eggs.
Contour Feathers
Streamlined feathers that give birds shape and color.
Down Feathers
Insulating layer under contour feathers on birds.
Mammals
Endothermic vertebrates with a four-chambered heart and skin covered with fur or hair.
Mammary Glands
Organs in mother's body that produce milk to feed young mammals.
Carnivores
Meat-eaters with sharp canines that tear flesh.
Herbivores
Plant-eating mammals with incisors that cut and molars that grind.
Omnivores
Eat both plants and animals using a variety of teeth.
Monotremes
Egg-laying mammals that lack nipples (e.g., spiny anteater and duck-billed platypus).
Marsupials
Mammals who give birth during early stage of development, then usually continue to develop in pouch on mother’s body.
Placental mammals
Mammals that develop from embryo connected to a placenta by an umbilical cord; diverse group based on how they eat and move, as well as other characteristics.