Lab Practical Vertebrates

Amphibian

Ectothermic animals that have a phase of life in both aquatic and terrestrial environments

Reptile

Have scales or scutes, breathe through lungs and are oviparous (egg laying). They are ectothermic but pigeons are the exception because they are endothermic

Fish

Gills to breathe, have swim bladders, and have fins for movement

Nictitating Membrane

Transparent membrane that protects frog eye when submerged

External nares

two small openings that assist in breathinG

Internal nares

Like the glottis, the internal nares connect to the lungs And Allows the frog to breathe with its mouth closed

Vomerine teeth

Hold and crush prey, two teeth on roof of mouth, crush exoskeleton

Eye bulges

Help to swallow

Glottis

Tube that leads to lungs, breathing and vocalizing

Frog Tongue

Sticky and flics out, does NOT help to swallow prey

Maxillary teeth

Small and numerous along the top jaw, angled in to grip prey and keep it from escaping

Frog heart

The heart has three chambers: right atrium,

ventricle, and left atrium

- Oxygenated and deoxygenated blood mix in the

ventricle before leaving the heart

Frog lungs

Air enters the lungs when the floor of the mouth is

pushed up (buccal pumping)

- The skin of the frog also helps assist the lungs in

gas exchange because it contains many blood

vessels that increase the area for gas exchange

Frog liver

The frog’s liver has 3 lobes, and it has 3 primary functions:

1. To secrete bile

2. To monitor the level of digested food in the blood

3. To store the excess products of digestion

Frog small intestine

Finishes digesting food

Male vs female frogs

Male frog: have testes and vocal sacs

- Testes: produce sperm to be released during reproduction

- Vocal sacs: used to call for mates and establish/maintain

territories

Female frog: have ovaries and oviducts

- Ovaries: produces the eggs

- Oviduct: coats the eggs with a jelly-like material for

protection

Frog brain

Olfactory bulb - smell

Cerebral hemisphere - voluntary actions, memory, intelligence, consciousness

Medulla - autonomic functions

Optic nerve - sight

Bird tongue

Aka piston tongue, aids in drinking and has taste buds

Bird gizzard

Functions to mechanically breakdown food through

muscular contractions of the gizzard wall

- Food is made acidic through acidic secretions from

the gizzard walls, and the partly digested food

(chyme) goes to the small intestine

Bird crop

Stores food temporarily and begins digestive process

Bird intestine

Digestion and absorption of food

Bird liver

Functions include metabolism, excretion,

detoxification, and synthesis

Bird lungs

Non elastic and do not store air, functions to exchange oxygen and co2, does NOT store air so rely on air sac

Bird heart

4 chambers,,