THE VERTEBRATES

SUBMITTED BY:LICCAH YZABELLE J. TALOMAANNABELLE LEE U. UDARBEGRADE V-SILANG(September 6, 2013)

AMPHIBIANIt is a cold-blooded vertebrate animal that is born in water and breathes with gills. As the larva grows into its adult form, the animal's lungs develop the ability to breathe air, and the animal can live on land. The young generally undergo metamorphosis from larva with gills to an adult air-breathing form with lungs. Amphibians use their skin as a secondary respiratory surface and some small terrestrial salamanders and frogs lack lungs and rely entirely upon skin. The wordamphibiancomes from the Greek wordamphibios, which means to live a double life. The nounamphibianhas its roots in the wordsamphi, meaning of both kinds, andbios, meaning life.Characteristics of Amphibians Animals1. Most species of frogs and toads live in tropical and warm temperate regions, although a few are found at very high latitudes and altitudes. 2. Salamanders are most diverse in temperate regions, but many species are found in cool, moist environments in Central American mountains. Many salamanders that live in rotting logs or moist soil lack lungs.3. They exchange gases entirely through the skin and mouth lining. Most species of amphibians live in water at some time in their lives. In the typical amphibian life cycle, part or all of the adult stage is spent on land, but adults return to fresh water to lay their eggs.4. Amphibian eggs can survive only in moist environments because they are enclosed within delicate envelopes that cannot prevent water loss indri conditions. The fertilized eggs of most species give rise to larvae that live in water until they undergo metamorphosis to become terrestrial adults.5. Some amphibians, however, are entirely aquatic, never leaving the water at any stage of their lives. Others are entirely terrestrial, laying their eggs in most places on land and skipping the aquatic larval stage.

II. EXAMPLESLiving amphibians belong to three orders:Order Gymnophiona the wormlike, limbless, tropical, burrowing caecilians.Order Anura:it includes tailess amphibians like the frogs and toads,Order Urodela:It includes tailed amphibians like the salamanders

REPTILESThey are cold blooded vertebrates that are found in the class Reptilia. They are characterized by lungs, outer covering of horny scales and young that are produced in amniotic eggs. Reptiles are tetrapod vertebrates, either having four limbs or, like snakes, being descended from four-limbed ancestors. Unlike amphibians, reptiles do not have an aquatic larval stage. Most reptiles are oviparous (egg-laying), although several species of squamates are viviparous, as were some extinct aquatic clades the fetus develops within the mother, contained in a placenta rather than an eggshell. As amniotes, reptile eggs are surrounded by membranes for protection and transport, which adapt them to reproduction on dry land.

II. EXAMPLES1. Crocodiles and alligators are large reptiles that spend much of their time on land and in water. They can walk on land using their webbed feet. They can also use their long tail to swim in water. Crocodiles feed on large animals they catch on land or in water. They have powerful jaws and teeth to tear apart their prey.2. Lizards and snakes are the largest group of reptiles. Lizards are four legged animals with a long tail. Many lizards can shed their tail to escape from predators. They can then grow a new tail. Some lizards, such as the chameleon, can change colors to blend into their environment. This camouflage helps to protect them from predators.3. Snakes don't have limbs. They move by slithering along the ground. Some snakes are poisonous, or venomous, such as the rattle snake, cobra, and eastern green mamba. They have fangs which bite into their prey and inject poison into the victim. Other snakes, such as the boa constrictor and the python kill their prey by crushing it. Most snakes can dislocate their jaw, allowing them to swallow prey much larger than themselves.

PISCES They are vertebrates that have a skeleton made of either bone or cartilage. About 95% of fishes have skeletons made of bone. These bony fishes have a swim bladder, a gas-filled sac, that they can inflate or deflate allowing them to float in the water even when not swimming. Fishes with a cartilage skeleton tend to be heavier than water and sink. They must swim to keep afloat. Cartilaginous (cartilage) fish include the ray and the shark. It is a Class in the Subphylum Vertebrata of the Phylum Chordata.

Characteristics of Pisces:1. Skin covered in scales 2. Ectothermic3. Cold blooded4. Soft shelled eggs that must be laid in water5. External fertilization6. All members are fully aquatic7. Limbs modified into fins8. Gas exchange through gills

II. EXAMPLESAgnatha - jawless fishCyclostomata - no jaw so the mouth cannot close, retractable teeth - hagfish and lampreysChondrichthyes - cartilaginous fish, skeleton made of cartilage rather than bone, gill slits at the side of the head, urea retained in the blood for osmotic balance.Elasmobranchii - no swim bladder, teeth in several series, heterocercal (vertically asymmetrical) tail - sharks and raysOsteichthyes - bony fishSarcopterygii - fleshy finned fishes (ancestors of tetrapods) - Coelocanths, lungfishesActinopterygii - ray finned fishes, fins are skin supported by a number of bony spines or raysTeleostei - moveable lower and upper jaw, homcercal (symmetrical) tails - Most living fishes are members of this group

AVES They are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic (warm-blooded), egg-laying, vertebrate animals. With around 10,000 living species, they are the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. All present species belong to the subclass Neornithes, and inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Characteristics of Aves: 1. Waterproof skin covered in feathers2. Endothermic, warm blooded3. Hard shelled eggs that are waterproof (cleidoic - closed egg)4. Beak or bill rather than teeth5. Bipedal (walk on two legs only)6. Forelimbs developed into wings7. Most members are highly adapted for flight with forelimbs modified as wings and many weight saving features such as hollow bones

II.EXAMPLESAnseriformes - waterfowl, web-footed for swimming - ducks, geese, swans Apodiformes - "footless" in Latin (they do have feet though), legs are used for perching and have no scales as other birds do - swifts, hummingbirdsCathartiformes - large scavenging birds, usually have a bald, featherless head - New World vultures or condorsCharadriiformes - usually found around water, frequently the sea - gulls, auks, ploversColumbiformes - the only birds capable of drinking by sucking without having to tilt the head back, able to produce "crop milk" to feed the young - doves and pigeonsFalconiformes - raptors, sharp hooked beak, strong legs and feet with strong claws - falcons, eagles, hawksGalliformes - fowl, ground feeding, heavy bodied birds, usually able to fly but only for short distances, walk to get about - chicken, turkey, grouse, pheasant, ptarmiganOpisthocomiformes - young possess claws on two of their wing digits (fingers), a very primitive feature - a single species the hoatzin.

RESOURCES:http://www.yourdictionary.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wikihttp://www.kidport.comhttp://www.darwinsgalapagos.comhttp://animal.discovery.comhttp://www.tutorvista.com/biologyhttp://visual.merriam-webster.com/animal-kingdomhttp://bogglesworldesl.com/esl_science/reptiles_and_amphibians.htmhttp://www.kidzone.ws/animalshttp://www.biokids.umich.edu/critters/Reptilia/