BiodiversityVertebrates vs. Invertebrates

Vertebrates

What are Vertebrates?• Vertebrates are creatures with

backbones or spinal columns. • The term Vertebrata is used in

scientific classifications as a subphylum of chordates.

• The name comes from the vetebrate bones that make up the spinal column.

• Generally most of the animals we are familiar with are vertebrates.

• Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals are all vertebrates.

Characteristics of Vertebrates•-backbone or spinal column

•-muscular system that consist of mainly paired masses

•-central nervous system

•-generally vertebrates have endoskeletons

•-a distinguishable head that house sensory organs

DID YOU KNOW?• About 57, 739 species of vertebrates

have been described.• Vertebrates started to evolve about 530

million years ago.• Both the vertebral column and the

limbs support the body of the vertebrate overall.

• The contour of the body of a vertebrate is formed by the muscles.

• The central nervous system of a vertebrate consists of the brain and the spinal cord.

Invertebrates

What is an Invertebrate?• Almost 97% of all animal life on the

planet are invertebrates.• Invertebrates are animals without

spinal columns or backbones.• They have specialized cells to

facilitate movement.• Invertebrates have various means of

reproduction.• Some possess exoskeletons, or no

skeletal structures at all.

Examples of Invertebrates• Porifera — sponges • Cnidarians — jellyfish • Platyhelminthes— flatworms • Nematoda — roundworms • Annelida — earthworms • Echinodermata — starfish, sea urchins,

sea cucumbers • Mollusca — squid, snails • Arthropoda — ticks, spiders,

grasshoppers, lobsters, crabs • Bryozoa — moss animals, sea mats

(occasionally resemble corals)